Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) Receives $98.71 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the eight brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have assigned a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $98.71.

SIGI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $96.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Selective Insurance Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Selective Insurance Group from $96.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, 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 report on Friday.

Selective Insurance Group Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of SIGI opened at $84.35 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.34. Selective Insurance Group has a one year low of $80.84 and a one year high of $109.58. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $92.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $92.62. The company has a market capitalization of $5.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.20 and a beta of 0.61.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) last released its earnings results 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Selective Insurance Group will post 7.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Selective Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Selective Insurance Group’s payout ratio is 47.21%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Selective Insurance Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 28.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,468,801 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $510,239,000 after buying an additional 1,216,801 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Selective Insurance Group in the fourth quarter worth $69,504,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Selective Insurance Group during the third quarter valued at $37,726,000. Eagle Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 112.7% during the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 427,180 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $42,667,000 after purchasing an additional 226,387 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $203,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.