Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) Receives $102.14 Average Target Price from Analysts

Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the eight research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $102.14.

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

Insider Transactions at Selective Insurance Group

In related news, CAO Anthony D. Harnett sold 1,404 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.61, for a total value of $130,024.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 15,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,476,759.06. This trade represents a 8.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Selective Insurance Group

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SIGI. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Selective Insurance Group by 38.4% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 6,296 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $603,000 after buying an additional 1,747 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Selective Insurance Group by 51.9% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 4,211 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $412,000 after buying an additional 1,438 shares in the last quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co acquired a new position in shares of Selective Insurance Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $345,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 1.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,586,527 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $148,048,000 after buying an additional 26,880 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 171.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 114,790 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $10,711,000 after acquiring an additional 72,530 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.88% of the company’s stock.

Selective Insurance Group Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of SIGI stock opened at $93.34 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.16 and a beta of 0.60. Selective Insurance Group has a 1 year low of $81.00 and a 1 year high of $109.58. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $96.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $92.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) last posted 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 company had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. Selective Insurance Group had a return on equity of 8.11% and a net margin of 5.01%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.51 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Selective Insurance Group will post 3.61 EPS for the current year.

Selective Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a $0.38 dividend. This is a positive change from Selective Insurance Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.63%. Selective Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.97%.

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.