Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) Hits New 12-Month Low – Time to Sell?

Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $80.29 and last traded at $80.52, with a volume of 77846 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $82.53.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Selective Insurance Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $95.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $96.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of 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, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.71.

Selective Insurance Group Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $91.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $92.37. The company has a market cap of $4.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.73 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 0.34.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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, analysts predict that Selective Insurance Group, Inc. will post 7.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Selective Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. Selective Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is 47.21%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Selective Insurance Group

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 171.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 114,790 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $10,711,000 after buying an additional 72,530 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 1.9% during 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 during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 2,486.8% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 7,631 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $712,000 after purchasing an additional 7,336 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 38.4% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 867,691 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $80,956,000 after purchasing an additional 21,374 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.88% of the company’s stock.

Selective Insurance Group Company Profile

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.