Donegal Group Inc. (NASDAQ:DGICA) Plans Dividend Increase – $0.17 Per Share

Donegal Group Inc. (NASDAQ:DGICA) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, April 18th, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 8th will be paid a dividend of 0.172 per share by the insurance provider on Wednesday, May 22nd. This represents a $0.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 7th. This is a boost from Donegal Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17.

Donegal Group has raised its dividend payment by an average of 4.3% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 21 years. Donegal Group has a payout ratio of 60.7% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Donegal Group to earn $0.80 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.68 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 85.0%.

Donegal Group Stock Performance

DGICA stock traded up $0.38 on Friday, reaching $14.02. 61,144 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 42,493. Donegal Group has a 12 month low of $13.10 and a 12 month high of $15.76. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $13.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $14.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $468.13 million, a PE ratio of 100.14 and a beta of -0.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.40.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Donegal Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Donegal Group

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of DGICA. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can boosted its stake in shares of Donegal Group by 58.1% in the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 1,924 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 707 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Donegal Group by 15,473.7% in the 2nd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,959 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 2,940 shares in the last quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Donegal Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $44,000. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA boosted its stake in shares of Donegal Group by 55.4% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA now owns 4,545 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 1,621 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in shares of Donegal Group by 838.1% in the 3rd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,625 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 4,132 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.96% of the company’s stock.

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.