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

Shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the eight ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One 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 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $104.57.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets raised Selective Insurance Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $95.00 to $105.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on 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 raised their price objective on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $96.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Selective Insurance Group in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $105.00 target price for the company.

Selective Insurance Group Price Performance

NASDAQ:SIGI opened at $93.28 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.35. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $95.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $93.00. Selective Insurance Group has a one year low of $81.00 and a one year high of $109.58. The stock has a market cap of $5.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.14 and a beta of 0.62.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.69 by ($0.29). Selective Insurance Group had a return on equity of 8.11% and a net margin of 5.01%. The firm had revenue of $1.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.51 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Selective Insurance Group will post 3.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Selective Insurance Group

In other Selective Insurance Group news, CAO Anthony D. Harnett sold 1,404 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.61, for a total value 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. The trade was a 8.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FMR LLC grew its stake in Selective Insurance Group by 28.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,468,801 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $510,239,000 after purchasing an additional 1,216,801 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. bought a new position in Selective Insurance Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,726,000. Eagle Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Selective Insurance Group by 112.7% in the 3rd 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 during the period. Emerald Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Selective Insurance Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $11,767,000. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 16.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 717,946 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $66,984,000 after purchasing an additional 101,045 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.