FORA Capital LLC Boosts Stock Position in Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI)

FORA Capital LLC lifted its position in Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) by 91.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,787 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,682 shares during the quarter. FORA Capital LLC’s holdings in Selective Insurance Group were worth $913,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in Selective Insurance Group by 245.9% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,228 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $134,000 after buying an additional 873 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group in the first quarter worth about $318,000. Comerica Bank grew its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 240.6% during the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 95,476 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $10,423,000 after acquiring an additional 67,445 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Selective Insurance Group by 81.5% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 323 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Somerset Trust Co lifted its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 5.5% in the second quarter. Somerset Trust Co now owns 5,665 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $532,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.88% of the company’s stock.

Selective Insurance Group Stock Up 2.2 %

SIGI stock opened at $102.00 on Friday. Selective Insurance Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $81.00 and a 52 week high of $109.58. 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $94.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $92.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.49 and a beta of 0.57.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.40 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 firm had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.51 earnings per share. Selective Insurance Group’s quarterly revenue was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Selective Insurance Group, Inc. will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Selective Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be 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 of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.49%. Selective Insurance Group’s payout ratio is presently 40.97%.

Insider Activity at Selective Insurance Group

In other news, CAO Anthony D. Harnett sold 1,404 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.61, for a total value of $130,024.44. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SIGI has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. 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. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of 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, Bank of America lifted their price target on Selective Insurance Group from $96.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Selective Insurance Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $101.67.

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.