Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) Receives $101.67 Consensus PT from Analysts

Shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the seven ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have assigned a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $101.67.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Selective Insurance Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $95.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $96.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $96.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd.

Insider Buying and Selling at Selective Insurance Group

In other news, CAO Anthony D. Harnett sold 1,404 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.61, for a total transaction of $130,024.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 15,946 shares in the company, valued at $1,476,759.06. The trade was a 8.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Selective Insurance Group

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,416,957 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $132,949,000 after buying an additional 62,699 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 2,486.8% in the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 7,631 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $712,000 after acquiring an additional 7,336 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 9.0% in the third quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 170,281 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $15,887,000 after acquiring an additional 14,004 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its position in Selective Insurance Group by 10.2% during the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 179,741 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $16,770,000 after acquiring an additional 16,689 shares during the period. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its position in Selective Insurance Group by 24.8% during the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 15,616 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,457,000 after acquiring an additional 3,100 shares during the period. 82.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Selective Insurance Group Stock Performance

Shares of SIGI stock opened at $102.00 on Monday. Selective Insurance Group has a 12 month low of $81.00 and a 12 month high of $109.58. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $94.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $92.79. The firm has a market cap of $6.20 billion, a PE ratio of 26.90 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.69 by ($0.29). The business had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. Selective Insurance Group had a return on equity of 8.11% and a net margin of 5.01%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.51 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Selective Insurance Group will post 3.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Selective Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This is a boost from Selective Insurance Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Selective Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is 40.97%.

About Selective Insurance Group

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.