Donegal Group Inc. (NASDAQ:DGICA) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Donegal Group Inc. (NASDAQ:DGICA) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 253,600 shares, a growth of 33.9% from the March 15th total of 189,400 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 59,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.2 days. Approximately 1.7% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on DGICA. StockNews.com cut Donegal Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Janney Montgomery Scott started coverage on Donegal Group in a research report on Wednesday, December 20th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $15.00 target price on the stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Donegal Group

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of DGICA. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in Donegal Group by 120.7% in the first quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 11,521 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $155,000 after acquiring an additional 6,300 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank boosted its stake in Donegal Group by 10.2% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 33,500 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $449,000 after acquiring an additional 3,100 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Donegal Group by 1.6% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 194,981 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,615,000 after buying an additional 3,118 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. acquired a new stake in shares of Donegal Group during the first quarter worth about $135,000. Finally, Great West Life Assurance Co. Can boosted its stake in shares of Donegal Group by 58.1% during the first quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 1,924 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 707 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.96% of the company’s stock.

Donegal Group Stock Down 0.6 %

Donegal Group stock opened at $13.32 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $444.75 million, a P/E ratio of 95.14 and a beta of -0.07. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $14.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Donegal Group has a twelve month low of $13.10 and a twelve month high of $15.76.

Donegal Group (NASDAQ:DGICA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The insurance provider reported ($0.11) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.23 by ($0.34). The business had revenue of $239.47 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $234.10 million. Donegal Group had a net margin of 0.48% and a return on equity of 0.40%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.09 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Donegal Group will post 0.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.