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

Shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the six research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $105.17.

SIGI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Selective Insurance Group from $111.00 to $109.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $120.00 price target on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a report on Friday, April 5th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Selective Insurance Group from $108.00 to $105.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $104.00 price target on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a report on Monday, April 1st.

Selective Insurance Group Price Performance

NASDAQ SIGI opened at $101.42 on Friday. Selective Insurance Group has a twelve month low of $91.99 and a twelve month high of $109.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.17 billion, a PE ratio of 17.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.55. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $103.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $102.84.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The insurance provider reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.92 by $0.02. Selective Insurance Group had a return on equity of 14.43% and a net margin of 8.57%. The business had revenue of $1.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.11 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Selective Insurance Group will post 7.67 EPS for the current year.

Selective Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 15th were issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 14th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.38%. Selective Insurance Group’s payout ratio is presently 24.01%.

Insider Transactions at Selective Insurance Group

In other news, COO Brenda M. Hall sold 2,626 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.88, for a total value of $278,040.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 10,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,112,904.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Selective Insurance Group

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of SIGI. Morgan Stanley grew its position in Selective Insurance Group by 516.0% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,959,603 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $173,641,000 after acquiring an additional 1,641,463 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Selective Insurance Group by 188.2% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,450,417 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $144,287,000 after acquiring an additional 947,147 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Selective Insurance Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $67,290,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Selective Insurance Group by 317.7% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 525,083 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $46,527,000 after acquiring an additional 399,386 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its position in Selective Insurance Group by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,866,827 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $398,941,000 after acquiring an additional 398,517 shares during the last quarter. 82.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Selective Insurance Group

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.