Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the eight ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $100.3333.

SIGI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Selective Insurance Group from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Selective Insurance Group from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings raised Selective Insurance Group from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Selective Insurance Group from $72.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Selective Insurance Group from $93.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th.

Selective Insurance Group Stock Performance

SIGI opened at $91.30 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $5.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.33 and a beta of 0.30. Selective Insurance Group has a 1-year low of $72.78 and a 1-year high of $100.40. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $95.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $87.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.29.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $1.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.30 billion. Selective Insurance Group had a net margin of 9.10% and a return on equity of 14.51%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.31 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Selective Insurance Group will post 8.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Selective Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Selective Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.34%.

Insider Activity at Selective Insurance Group

In related news, EVP Michael H. Lanza sold 17,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.04, for a total transaction of $1,608,084.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 16,565 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,557,772.60. This represents a 50.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Selective Insurance Group

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Comerica Bank increased its stake in Selective Insurance Group by 94.8% in the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 55,955 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,682,000 after acquiring an additional 27,236 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Selective Insurance Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $468,000. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 138.0% in the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 62,686 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $5,245,000 after purchasing an additional 36,351 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG grew its holdings in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 46.1% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 237,076 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $19,836,000 after purchasing an additional 74,757 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Selective Insurance Group by 3.4% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,359,224 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $102,473,000 after purchasing an additional 44,532 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.88% of the company’s stock.

Selective Insurance Group Company Profile

Selective Insurance Group, Inc is an insurance holding company headquartered in Branchville, New Jersey. The organization traces its roots to a regional provider of property and casualty coverage and became a publicly traded holding company following its initial public offering in 1999. Since its formation, Selective has expanded through strategic acquisitions and organic growth initiatives to broaden its product offerings and strengthen its market position.

The company’s core business encompasses a broad range of property and casualty insurance products designed to serve both commercial and personal lines customers.