Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) Shares Cross Above 200-Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI)’s share price passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $81.05 and traded as high as $84.77. Selective Insurance Group shares last traded at $84.53, with a volume of 1,283,788 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on SIGI. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Selective Insurance Group from $84.00 to $82.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on Selective Insurance Group in a report on Monday, November 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their target price 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Selective Insurance Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $81.80.

Selective Insurance Group Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $5.11 billion, a PE ratio of 13.02 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a 50-day moving average of $79.18 and a 200 day moving average of $81.05.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) last issued 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 return on equity of 12.96% and a net margin of 7.78%.The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.40 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Selective Insurance Group, Inc. will post 7.62 EPS for the current year.

Selective Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th were paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 14th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. This is a boost from Selective Insurance Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Selective Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.50%.

Institutional Trading of Selective Insurance Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in Selective Insurance Group by 9.7% in the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 5,001 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $458,000 after acquiring an additional 441 shares in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP purchased a new stake in Selective Insurance Group during the first quarter valued at about $293,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Selective Insurance Group during the first quarter worth about $38,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in Selective Insurance Group by 1.7% during the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 10,075 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $922,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Martingale Asset Management L P boosted its holdings in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 28,140 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,576,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.88% of the company’s stock.

Selective Insurance Group Company Profile

Selective Insurance Group, Inc is an insurance holding company headquartered in Branchville, New Jersey. The organization traces its roots to a regional provider of property and casualty coverage and became a publicly traded holding company following its initial public offering in 1999. Since its formation, Selective has expanded through strategic acquisitions and organic growth initiatives to broaden its product offerings and strengthen its market position.

The company’s core business encompasses a broad range of property and casualty insurance products designed to serve both commercial and personal lines customers.