Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) Stock Gets Downgrade from Wall Street Zen

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Sunday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Selective Insurance Group from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings raised Selective Insurance Group from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their target price on Selective Insurance Group from $105.00 to $97.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Selective Insurance Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $101.83.

Selective Insurance Group Price Performance

Shares of SIGI opened at $100.76 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $5.94 billion, a PE ratio of 11.39 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.29. Selective Insurance Group has a fifty-two week low of $72.78 and a fifty-two week high of $101.48. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $89.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $87.67.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The insurance provider reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.91 by $0.46. Selective Insurance Group had a net margin of 9.40% and a return on equity of 15.60%. The business had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.85 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Selective Insurance Group will post 8.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Selective Insurance Group

In related news, Director Cynthia Nicholson sold 3,691 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.71, for a total transaction of $364,338.61. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 17,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,723,772.73. This trade represents a 17.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Selective Insurance Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new position in Selective Insurance Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $5,408,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in Selective Insurance Group in the second quarter worth approximately $8,349,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Selective Insurance Group in the second quarter worth approximately $63,423,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in Selective Insurance Group in the second quarter worth approximately $5,496,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in Selective Insurance Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $77,149,000. 82.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Selective Insurance Group Company Profile

Selective Insurance Group, Inc is a holding company for a group of property and casualty insurance subsidiaries. Founded in 1926 and headquartered in Branchville, New Jersey, the company provides insurance products and related services primarily through a network of independent agents.

Selective serves commercial, personal and public-sector customers. Its commercial offerings include business owners policies, commercial automobile, workers’ compensation, general liability, commercial property and other specialty coverages.