Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) Shares Cross Above 200-Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $80.88 and traded as high as $85.02. Selective Insurance Group shares last traded at $84.54, with a volume of 216,429 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SIGI has been the subject of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Selective Insurance Group from $84.00 to $82.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Selective Insurance Group from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Selective Insurance Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $81.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $76.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Selective Insurance Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Selective Insurance Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $81.80.

Selective Insurance Group Trading Down 1.1%

The company has a current ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.89 and a beta of 0.26. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $79.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $80.90.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The insurance provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.04. Selective Insurance Group had a net margin of 7.78% and a return on equity of 12.96%. The business had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.40 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Selective Insurance Group, Inc. will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Selective Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 14th were paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 14th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. This is a boost from Selective Insurance Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Selective Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.50%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Selective Insurance Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $6,372,000. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $231,000. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new stake in Selective Insurance Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $526,000. Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in Selective Insurance Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $57,000. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new position in Selective Insurance Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $68,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.88% of the company’s stock.

Selective Insurance Group Company Profile

Selective Insurance Group, Inc is an insurance holding company headquartered in Branchville, New Jersey. The organization traces its roots to a regional provider of property and casualty coverage and became a publicly traded holding company following its initial public offering in 1999. Since its formation, Selective has expanded through strategic acquisitions and organic growth initiatives to broaden its product offerings and strengthen its market position.

The company’s core business encompasses a broad range of property and casualty insurance products designed to serve both commercial and personal lines customers.