Donegal Group (NASDAQ:DGICA) Shares Pass Above 200-Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Donegal Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:DGICA) shares passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $19.03 and traded as high as $20.04. Donegal Group shares last traded at $19.29, with a volume of 100,749 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on DGICA shares. Zacks Research cut shares of Donegal Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Donegal Group in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Donegal Group from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.00.

Donegal Group Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $706.79 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.97 and a beta of 0.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.39. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $19.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.03.

Donegal Group (NASDAQ:DGICA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.15. Donegal Group had a net margin of 8.72% and a return on equity of 14.28%. The company had revenue of $245.92 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $244.19 million. On average, analysts forecast that Donegal Group, Inc. will post 1.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Donegal Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.1825 per share. This represents a $0.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 3rd. Donegal Group’s payout ratio is presently 30.17%.

Insider Activity

In other Donegal Group news, Director Kevin Michael Sr Kraft, Sr. sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.02, for a total value of $90,090.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 13,436 shares in the company, valued at $268,988.72. This represents a 25.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Mutual Insurance Co Donegal acquired 22,819 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $20.05 per share, with a total value of $457,520.95. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 13,913,704 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $278,969,765.20. This trade represents a 0.16% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 263,529 shares of company stock worth $5,099,413 and have sold 27,074 shares worth $539,064. Corporate insiders own 3.48% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Donegal Group

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DGICA. ProShare Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Donegal Group in the second quarter valued at about $6,343,000. CSM Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Donegal Group during the second quarter worth approximately $3,699,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Donegal Group by 294.1% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 149,611 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,996,000 after acquiring an additional 111,647 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its stake in shares of Donegal Group by 139.8% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 152,432 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,956,000 after acquiring an additional 88,878 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Donegal Group by 33.0% in the 2nd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 356,154 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $7,132,000 after acquiring an additional 88,462 shares in the last quarter. 27.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Donegal Group Company Profile

Donegal Group, Inc (NASDAQ: DGICA) is a property and casualty insurance holding company headquartered in Marietta, Pennsylvania. Through a network of independent agencies, the company offers a suite of personal and commercial insurance products. Its underwriting subsidiaries provide homeowners, automobile, farmowner, commercial multi-peril, surety and umbrella coverages designed to meet the needs of individuals, families and businesses.

The company’s origins date back to 1925 with the formation of Donegal Mutual Insurance Company to serve rural communities in Pennsylvania.