Analysts Set Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) PT at $98.71

Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eight research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have assigned a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $98.71.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Selective Insurance Group from $95.00 to $87.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $93.00 price target (down previously from $116.00) on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a research report on Friday, February 7th.

Selective Insurance Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ SIGI opened at $91.96 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $86.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $91.88. Selective Insurance Group has a 12-month low of $78.13 and a 12-month high of $106.95. The firm has a market cap of $5.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.56 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by ($0.37). Selective Insurance Group had a net margin of 4.26% and a return on equity of 7.33%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Selective Insurance Group will post 7.62 EPS for the current year.

Selective Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Selective Insurance Group’s payout ratio is currently 47.20%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 28.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,468,801 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $510,239,000 after purchasing an additional 1,216,801 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Selective Insurance Group during the fourth quarter valued at $93,409,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Selective Insurance Group during the fourth quarter valued at $69,504,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $37,726,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group in the 4th quarter worth about $203,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.88% of the company’s stock.

Selective Insurance Group Company Profile

Selective Insurance Group, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance products and services in the United States. The company operates through four segments: Standard Commercial Lines, Standard Personal Lines, E&S Lines, and Investments. It offers casualty insurance products that covers the financial consequences of employee injuries in the course of employment and bodily injury and/or property damage to a third party; property insurance products, which covers the accidental loss of an insured's real property, personal property, and/or earnings due to the property's loss; and flood insurance products.