Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

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

Several research firms have recently commented on SIGI. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $93.00 price objective (down previously from $116.00) on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a report on Friday, February 7th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Selective Insurance Group from $95.00 to $87.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Selective Insurance Group

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 171.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 114,790 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $10,711,000 after acquiring an additional 72,530 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 405,153 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $37,801,000 after purchasing an additional 7,563 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 1,747 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 249.8% during the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 82,351 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $7,683,000 after purchasing an additional 58,808 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group in the third quarter worth about $626,000. 82.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Selective Insurance Group Price Performance

Shares of SIGI opened at $91.79 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $86.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $91.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 0.34. The company has a market capitalization of $5.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.51 and a beta of 0.54. Selective Insurance Group has a fifty-two week low of $78.13 and a fifty-two week high of $108.92.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) last released its quarterly 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 return on equity of 7.33% and a net margin of 4.26%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Selective Insurance Group will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Selective Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.66%. Selective Insurance Group’s payout ratio is currently 47.20%.

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.