Analysts Set Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) Target Price at $87.50

Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) has been given an average rating of “Reduce” by the nine brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have given a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $87.50.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on SIGI shares. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Selective Insurance Group from $88.00 to $79.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 25th. BMO Capital Markets set a $88.00 target price on Selective Insurance Group and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Zacks Research raised Selective Insurance Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th.

Selective Insurance Group Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of SIGI stock opened at $81.15 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.94 billion, a PE ratio of 13.28 and a beta of 0.39. Selective Insurance Group has a fifty-two week low of $71.75 and a fifty-two week high of $103.56. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $79.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $83.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.33.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.55 by ($0.24). The company had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 business earned ($1.10) earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Selective Insurance Group will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Selective Insurance Group Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Selective Insurance Group news, Director Thomas A. Mccarthy bought 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $77.42 per share, with a total value of $193,550.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 18,746 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,451,315.32. This represents a 15.39% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert Kelly Doherty purchased 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $77.00 per share, for a total transaction of $115,500.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 27,110 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,087,470. This trade represents a 5.86% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders bought 10,602 shares of company stock worth $817,440. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Selective Insurance Group

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 worth $137,340,000 after purchasing an additional 1,013,371 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Selective Insurance Group in the second quarter valued at about $61,437,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Selective Insurance Group in the first quarter valued at about $36,943,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 4,903.4% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 347,933 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $30,148,000 after acquiring an additional 340,979 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group during the second quarter valued at about $20,108,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.