Donegal Group (NASDAQ:DGICA) Reaches New 1-Year High Following Insider Buying Activity

Donegal Group Inc. (NASDAQ:DGICA - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The company traded as high as $16.00 and last traded at $15.97, with a volume of 27303 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $15.84.

Specifically, major shareholder Mutual Insurance Co Donegal purchased 8,100 shares of Donegal Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $15.93 per share, with a total value of $129,033.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,577,768 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $200,363,844.24. The trade was a 0.06 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Mutual Insurance Co Donegal purchased 8,170 shares of Donegal Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $15.95 per share, for a total transaction of $130,311.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,561,268 shares in the company, valued at $200,352,224.60. This represents a 0.07 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In other Donegal Group news, major shareholder Mutual Insurance Co Donegal bought 8,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $15.74 per share, with a total value of $133,790.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,544,998 shares in the company, valued at approximately $197,458,268.52. This trade represents a 0.07 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Donegal Group Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $528.65 million, a PE ratio of 21.01 and a beta of -0.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.38. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $15.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $14.13.

Donegal Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be given a $0.172 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $0.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.36%. Donegal Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 90.79%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Donegal Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of DGICA. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Donegal Group by 34.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,183,005 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $16,728,000 after purchasing an additional 304,477 shares in the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC increased its holdings in Donegal Group by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 244,600 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $3,605,000 after purchasing an additional 2,310 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Donegal Group by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 129,551 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,669,000 after purchasing an additional 5,416 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in Donegal Group by 82.1% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 105,257 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,551,000 after purchasing an additional 47,447 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Donegal Group by 30.3% in the 1st quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 75,833 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,072,000 after buying an additional 17,614 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 27.96% of the company's stock.

Donegal Group Company Profile

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.