Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Issues Positive Forecast for Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) Stock Price

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) had its price objective hoisted by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $114.00 to $116.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has an outperform rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on SIGI. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $96.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America upped their price objective on Selective Insurance Group from $96.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Selective Insurance Group in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $105.00 target price on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised shares of 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 research report on Wednesday, October 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Selective Insurance Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $104.57.

Selective Insurance Group Trading Down 1.5 %

Selective Insurance Group stock opened at $89.70 on Friday. Selective Insurance Group has a one year low of $81.00 and a one year high of $109.58. The business’s fifty day moving average is $96.27 and its 200 day moving average is $92.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.45 billion, a PE ratio of 24.18 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.35.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by ($0.29). Selective Insurance Group had a net margin of 5.01% and a return on equity of 8.11%. The company had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.51 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Selective Insurance Group will post 3.61 EPS for the current year.

Selective Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.69%. This is an increase from Selective Insurance Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Selective Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.97%.

Insider Activity

In other Selective Insurance Group 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 transaction of $130,024.44. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 15,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,476,759.06. This trade represents a 8.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Selective Insurance Group

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SIGI. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 171.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 114,790 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $10,711,000 after buying an additional 72,530 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 1.9% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 405,153 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $37,801,000 after acquiring an additional 7,563 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 2,486.8% in the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 7,631 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $712,000 after acquiring an additional 7,336 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,747 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 4.6% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,416,957 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $132,949,000 after acquiring an additional 62,699 shares during the period. 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.