Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the eight brokerages that are presently 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 given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $102.14.

SIGI has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Selective Insurance Group in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $105.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Selective Insurance Group from $96.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $96.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Selective Insurance Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $95.00 to $105.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 30th.

Selective Insurance Group Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:SIGI opened at $93.60 on Friday. Selective Insurance Group has a fifty-two week low of $81.00 and a fifty-two week high of $109.58. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $96.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $93.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The stock has a market cap of $5.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.23 and a beta of 0.60.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.17 billion. Selective Insurance Group had a return on equity of 8.11% and a net margin of 5.01%. Selective Insurance Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.51 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Selective Insurance Group will post 3.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Selective Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were given a $0.38 dividend. This is an increase from Selective Insurance Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.62%. Selective Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is 40.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Selective Insurance Group news, CAO Anthony D. Harnett sold 1,404 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.61, for a total transaction of $130,024.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 15,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,476,759.06. This represents a 8.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

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.