Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have assigned a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $81.80.

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Selective Insurance Group from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on 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. BMO Capital Markets cut Selective Insurance Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $81.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on Selective Insurance Group in a research report on Monday, November 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Selective Insurance Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Selective Insurance Group

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SIGI. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 2.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,756,225 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $618,465,000 after acquiring an additional 135,324 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 62.9% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,596,709 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $208,048,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003,064 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Selective Insurance Group by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,270,387 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $102,982,000 after purchasing an additional 17,511 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 2.0% in the 2nd 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 buying an additional 22,410 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its position 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 buying an additional 63,255 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.88% of the company’s stock.

Selective Insurance Group Trading Down 1.2%

NASDAQ SIGI opened at $77.10 on Friday. Selective Insurance Group has a 12 month low of $71.75 and a 12 month high of $100.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.88 and a beta of 0.26. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $79.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.32.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The insurance provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.40 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Selective Insurance Group will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Selective Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 14th were paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 14th. This is an increase from Selective Insurance Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Selective Insurance Group’s payout ratio is currently 26.50%.

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.