Donegal Group (NASDAQ:DGICA) Hits New 1-Year High - Here's Why

Donegal Group Inc. (NASDAQ:DGICA - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $16.66 and last traded at $16.66, with a volume of 57856 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $16.43.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Donegal Group from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th.

Donegal Group Trading Up 1.3 %

The firm has a market cap of $564.10 million, a P/E ratio of 21.90 and a beta of -0.06. The business's 50 day moving average is $15.25 and its 200-day moving average is $14.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Donegal Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a dividend of $0.172 per share. This represents a $0.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Donegal Group's payout ratio is currently 90.79%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Barry C. Huber sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.70, for a total transaction of $70,650.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 14,867 shares in the company, valued at $233,411.90. This represents a 23.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Mutual Insurance Co Donegal bought 150,432 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $15.49 per share, with a total value of $2,330,191.68. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 12,502,366 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $193,661,649.34. The trade was a 1.22 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders bought 260,188 shares of company stock worth $4,047,445 and sold 124,266 shares worth $1,932,589. Company insiders own 6.63% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of DGICA. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Donegal Group in the second quarter worth $27,000. Martingale Asset Management L P grew its position in Donegal Group by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 22,353 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $329,000 after buying an additional 902 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in Donegal Group by 7.8% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 31,091 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $389,000 after buying an additional 2,250 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new position in Donegal Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $448,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Donegal Group by 95.2% during the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 40,407 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $520,000 after buying an additional 19,707 shares in the last quarter. 27.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Donegal Group

Donegal Group Inc, an insurance holding company, provides property and casualty insurance to businesses and individuals. It operates through three segments: Investment Function, Personal Lines of Insurance, and Commercial Lines of Insurance. The company offers private passenger automobile policies that provide protection against liability for bodily injury and property damage arising from automobile accidents, as well as protection against loss from damage to automobiles; and homeowners policies, which provide coverage for damage to residences and their contents from a range of perils, including fire, lightning, windstorm, and theft, as well as liability of the insured arising from injury to other persons or their property.