Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) Receives $87.33 Consensus PT from Brokerages

Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) has earned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $87.3333.

Several analysts have issued reports on SIGI shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Selective Insurance Group from $92.00 to $84.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $88.00 to $79.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 25th. BMO Capital Markets set a $88.00 target price on shares of Selective Insurance Group and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut shares of Selective Insurance Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $86.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th.

Selective Insurance Group Stock Down 0.4%

SIGI opened at $78.32 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $79.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $84.77. Selective Insurance Group has a 52 week low of $71.75 and a 52 week high of $103.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The stock has a market cap of $4.77 billion, a PE ratio of 12.82 and a beta of 0.44.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.55 by ($0.24). The firm had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.32 billion. Selective Insurance Group had a return on equity of 12.61% and a net margin of 7.50%.During the same period last year, the firm earned ($1.10) EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Selective Insurance Group will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Selective Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Selective Insurance Group’s payout ratio is currently 24.88%.

Insider Activity at Selective Insurance Group

In related news, EVP Joseph Eppers acquired 1,402 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $76.82 per share, for a total transaction of $107,701.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 12,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $959,635.44. This trade represents a 12.64% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Kelly Doherty acquired 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $77.00 per share, with a total value of $115,500.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 27,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,087,470. This trade represents a 5.86% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought a total of 10,602 shares of company stock worth $817,440 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Selective Insurance Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Selective Insurance Group by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,756,225 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $618,465,000 after buying an additional 135,324 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 174.6% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,593,645 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $137,340,000 after acquiring an additional 1,013,371 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 2.0% during the second quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,150,662 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $99,705,000 after acquiring an additional 22,410 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 6.0% during the second quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 1,109,922 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $96,175,000 after purchasing an additional 63,255 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 0.6% in the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 897,554 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $77,773,000 after purchasing an additional 5,683 shares during the last quarter. 82.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.