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

Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seven analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $98.67.

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Selective Insurance Group from $103.00 to $96.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Selective Insurance Group from $104.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Selective Insurance Group from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Selective Insurance Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $104.00 to $99.00 in a report on Monday, July 22nd.

Selective Insurance Group Stock Performance

Shares of SIGI opened at $90.95 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $89.75 and a 200 day moving average of $95.90. Selective Insurance Group has a 12 month low of $81.00 and a 12 month high of $109.58. The company has a market capitalization of $5.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.07, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.56.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The insurance provider reported ($1.10) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($2.59). Selective Insurance Group had a return on equity of 8.75% and a net margin of 5.12%. The firm had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.21 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.99 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Selective Insurance Group will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Selective Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. Selective Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is 24.74%.

Insider Activity at Selective Insurance Group

In other Selective Insurance Group news, CEO John J. Marchioni acquired 2,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was bought at an average price of $83.56 per share, with a total value of $200,544.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 136,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,397,333.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Terrence W. Cavanaugh purchased 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $85.85 per share, for a total transaction of $171,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,772,888.35. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO John J. Marchioni purchased 2,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $83.56 per share, for a total transaction of $200,544.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 136,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,397,333.32. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Selective Insurance Group

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Selective Insurance Group during the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Selective Insurance Group during the second quarter valued at about $28,000. 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 purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Selective Insurance Group during the first quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Selective Insurance Group in the second quarter worth about $44,000. 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.