Donegal Group (NASDAQ:DGICA) Stock Rating Lowered by Zacks Research

Donegal Group (NASDAQ:DGICA) was downgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Zacks reports.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on DGICA. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Donegal Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, August 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Donegal Group from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.00.

Donegal Group Trading Down 0.7%

NASDAQ DGICA opened at $18.73 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $18.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.39. Donegal Group has a one year low of $16.11 and a one year high of $21.06. The firm has a market cap of $695.26 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.70 and a beta of -0.01.

Donegal Group (NASDAQ:DGICA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The insurance provider reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.11. Donegal Group had a net margin of 7.38% and a return on equity of 10.65%. The firm had revenue of $241.12 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $231.53 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Donegal Group will post 1.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Donegal Group news, insider Kevin Burke sold 24,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.23, for a total transaction of $461,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 13,870 shares in the company, valued at $266,720.10. The trade was a 63.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO David Bawel sold 8,326 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.28, for a total transaction of $160,525.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 22,331 shares in the company, valued at approximately $430,541.68. This represents a 27.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders bought 220,437 shares of company stock valued at $4,218,669 and sold 111,108 shares valued at $2,153,119. 2.75% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Donegal Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of DGICA. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Donegal Group by 0.4% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,737,266 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $29,846,000 after purchasing an additional 7,345 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in Donegal Group by 5.8% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 392,711 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $6,747,000 after buying an additional 21,500 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in Donegal Group by 41.2% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 276,237 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,746,000 after buying an additional 80,614 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP lifted its holdings in Donegal Group by 579.4% during the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 169,853 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,394,000 after buying an additional 144,853 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Donegal Group by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 166,616 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,862,000 after acquiring an additional 9,075 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.96% of the company’s stock.

About Donegal Group

Donegal Group Inc is an insurance holding company that provides property and casualty insurance through a network of independent insurance agents. The company operates through regional insurance subsidiaries affiliated with Donegal Mutual Insurance Company and serves individuals, families, farms, and businesses.

Its personal insurance products generally include automobile, homeowners, dwelling fire, renters, and farmowners coverage. Donegal Group also offers commercial insurance, including businessowners policies, commercial automobile, commercial package, workers’ compensation, general liability, and related coverages.