Donegal Group (NASDAQ:DGICA) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

Donegal Group (NASDAQ:DGICA) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Wednesday.

Donegal Group Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of DGICA traded down $0.14 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $14.60. The stock had a trading volume of 16,756 shares, compared to its average volume of 55,955. Donegal Group has a 1 year low of $12.26 and a 1 year high of $15.45. The firm has a market cap of $487.54 million, a PE ratio of 91.25 and a beta of -0.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.39. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $14.76 and its 200 day moving average is $13.85.

Donegal Group (NASDAQ:DGICA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The insurance provider reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $246.77 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $243.00 million. Donegal Group had a net margin of 0.76% and a return on equity of 0.89%. As a group, analysts forecast that Donegal Group will post 0.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Donegal Group

In other Donegal Group news, major shareholder Mutual Insurance Co Donegal bought 6,005 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $15.34 per share, for a total transaction of $92,116.70. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 12,351,934 shares in the company, valued at $189,478,667.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, major shareholder Mutual Insurance Co Donegal purchased 6,005 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $15.34 per share, for a total transaction of $92,116.70. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 12,351,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $189,478,667.56. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Vincent Anthony Viozzi sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.24, for a total transaction of $457,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 9,891 shares in the company, valued at $150,738.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 139,437 shares of company stock worth $2,062,143. Insiders own 6.63% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Donegal Group

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of DGICA. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new position in Donegal Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $448,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in Donegal Group by 7.8% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 31,091 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $389,000 after acquiring an additional 2,250 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Donegal Group by 95.2% in the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 40,407 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $520,000 after acquiring an additional 19,707 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Donegal Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Donegal Group by 4.4% in 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 acquiring an additional 5,416 shares during the period. 27.96% of the stock is currently owned by 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.