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

Shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the eight ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $81.80.

SIGI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Selective Insurance Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on Selective Insurance Group in a research note on Monday, November 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Selective Insurance Group from $84.00 to $82.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Selective Insurance Group from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Selective Insurance Group

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Selective Insurance Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $6,372,000. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd purchased a new stake in Selective Insurance Group during the third quarter valued at $231,000. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new position in Selective Insurance Group in the third quarter valued at about $526,000. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in Selective Insurance Group in the third quarter worth about $57,000. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $68,000. Institutional investors own 82.88% of the company’s stock.

Selective Insurance Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SIGI opened at $84.54 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $79.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $80.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The company has a market capitalization of $5.11 billion, a PE ratio of 13.03 and a beta of 0.26. Selective Insurance Group has a 1-year low of $71.75 and a 1-year high of $96.49.

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

Selective Insurance Group Increases Dividend

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

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.