Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) Receives $78.75 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” by the seven research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and six have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $78.75.

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on SIGI shares. Zacks Research upgraded Selective Insurance Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Selective Insurance Group from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded Selective Insurance Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $81.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $84.00 to $82.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 24th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 0.3% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 141,658 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $12,967,000 after buying an additional 493 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp bought a new position in Selective Insurance Group in the 1st quarter worth about $225,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 29.4% in the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 4,125 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $368,000 after acquiring an additional 938 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 21.6% during the 1st quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 8,848 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $810,000 after acquiring an additional 1,573 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 1.4% during the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 14,581 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,335,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 82.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Selective Insurance Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SIGI opened at $79.12 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.78 billion, a PE ratio of 12.19 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $79.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $82.62. Selective Insurance Group has a twelve month low of $71.75 and a twelve month high of $103.56.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The insurance provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.04. Selective Insurance Group had a net margin of 7.78% and a return on equity of 12.96%. The company had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.40 EPS. Selective Insurance Group’s revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Selective Insurance Group will post 7.62 EPS for the current year.

Selective Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 14th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. This is a boost from Selective Insurance Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Selective Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.50%.

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.