Brokerages Set Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) Target Price at $98.71

Shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the eight research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $98.71.

Several research firms have weighed in on SIGI. Bank of America upped their price target on Selective Insurance Group from $96.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $93.00 price target (down from $116.00) on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a research note on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Selective Insurance Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $105.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted 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. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a report on Thursday, January 30th.

Selective Insurance Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SIGI opened at $82.55 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $92.03 and a 200 day moving average of $92.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.64 and a beta of 0.61. Selective Insurance Group has a 12-month low of $80.84 and a 12-month high of $109.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.99 by ($0.37). Selective Insurance Group had a net margin of 4.26% and a return on equity of 7.33%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Selective Insurance Group will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Selective Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Selective Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.21%.

Institutional Trading of Selective Insurance Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SIGI. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Selective Insurance Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in Selective Insurance Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in Selective Insurance Group by 37.1% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 429 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position in Selective Insurance Group by 957.1% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 444 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Selective Insurance Group by 64.4% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 485 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.88% of the company’s stock.

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.