Brokerages Set Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) PT at $102.14

Shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the eight ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $102.14.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Selective Insurance Group in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $105.00 target price for the company. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $96.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Selective Insurance Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $95.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $96.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Anthony D. Harnett sold 1,404 shares of Selective Insurance Group stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.61, for a total value of $130,024.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 15,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,476,759.06. The trade was a 8.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Selective Insurance Group

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SIGI. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 28.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,468,801 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $510,239,000 after buying an additional 1,216,801 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. bought a new stake in Selective Insurance Group during the third quarter valued at about $37,726,000. Eagle Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 112.7% during the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 427,180 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $42,667,000 after acquiring an additional 226,387 shares during the period. Emerald Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group in the third quarter valued at about $11,767,000. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 16.4% in the third quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 717,946 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $66,984,000 after purchasing an additional 101,045 shares during the period. 82.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Selective Insurance Group Stock Performance

Shares of SIGI opened at $93.34 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.35. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $96.74 and its 200-day moving average is $92.97. Selective Insurance Group has a 12-month low of $81.00 and a 12-month high of $109.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.16 and a beta of 0.60.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.69 by ($0.29). Selective Insurance Group had a return on equity of 8.11% and a net margin of 5.01%. The business had revenue of $1.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.51 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Selective Insurance Group will post 3.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Selective Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $0.38 per share. This is a boost from Selective Insurance Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.63%. Selective Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.97%.

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.