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

Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eight brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $99.3333.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on SIGI shares. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $72.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Selective Insurance Group from $88.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings raised Selective Insurance Group from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price on Selective Insurance Group from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Selective Insurance Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SIGI. Amundi boosted its position in Selective Insurance Group by 398.7% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 389 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 5.5% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 213,627 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $19,555,000 after purchasing an additional 11,167 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 17.9% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 2,705 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $248,000 after buying an additional 411 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $468,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 14.1% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 3,749 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $325,000 after buying an additional 462 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.88% of the company’s stock.

Selective Insurance Group Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of Selective Insurance Group stock opened at $96.46 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.78 billion, a PE ratio of 13.20 and a beta of 0.29. Selective Insurance Group has a 1 year low of $71.75 and a 1 year high of $100.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $92.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $85.41.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The insurance provider reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81 by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. Selective Insurance Group had a return on equity of 13.71% and a net margin of 8.39%.Selective Insurance Group’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.76 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Selective Insurance Group will post 7.85 EPS for the current year.

Selective Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Selective Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.53%.

About Selective Insurance Group

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.