Donegal Group (NASDAQ:DGICA) Shares Gap Up - What's Next?

Donegal Group Inc. (NASDAQ:DGICA - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $14.54, but opened at $15.29. Donegal Group shares last traded at $15.21, with a volume of 4,250 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of Donegal Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd.

Donegal Group Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $14.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $13.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $527.28 million, a PE ratio of 98.69 and a beta of -0.06.

Donegal Group (NASDAQ:DGICA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The insurance provider reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.04. Donegal Group had a net margin of 0.76% and a return on equity of 0.89%. The business had revenue of $246.77 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $243.00 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Donegal Group Inc. will post 0.45 EPS for the current year.

Donegal Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st will be paid a $0.172 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $0.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.36%. Donegal Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 431.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Vincent Anthony Viozzi sold 30,000 shares of Donegal Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.24, for a total value of $457,200.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 9,891 shares in the company, valued at approximately $150,738.84. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Donegal Group news, VP Vincent Anthony Viozzi sold 30,000 shares of Donegal Group stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.24, for a total transaction of $457,200.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 9,891 shares of the company's stock, valued at $150,738.84. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Mutual Insurance Co Donegal purchased 8,951 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $13.50 per share, for a total transaction of $120,838.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 12,123,065 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $163,661,377.50. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders purchased 139,437 shares of company stock worth $2,062,143. Company insiders own 6.63% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Donegal Group

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Donegal Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $293,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in shares of Donegal Group by 125.0% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 10,364 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $147,000 after purchasing an additional 5,757 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Donegal Group by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 111,216 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,573,000 after buying an additional 8,400 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted 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 worth $16,728,000 after buying an additional 304,477 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in Donegal Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $137,000. 27.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.