Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) Reaches New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) shares reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $91.65 and last traded at $90.86, with a volume of 22214 shares. The stock had previously closed at $90.70.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on SIGI. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Selective Insurance Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $84.00 to $97.00 in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Selective Insurance Group from $82.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Selective Insurance Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $91.67.

Selective Insurance Group Price Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average of $81.24 and a 200-day moving average of $81.86. The firm has a market cap of $5.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.40 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.30.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) last announced its 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). Selective Insurance Group had a return on equity of 13.71% and a net margin of 8.39%.The business had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.76 EPS. Selective Insurance Group’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Selective Insurance Group, Inc. will post 7.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Selective Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. Selective Insurance Group’s payout ratio is presently 23.53%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Selective Insurance Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SIGI. Cim Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Selective Insurance Group by 54.3% in the first quarter. Cim Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,098 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $384,000 after acquiring an additional 1,793 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Selective Insurance Group by 2.5% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 759,122 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $57,230,000 after acquiring an additional 18,675 shares during the period. Bull Harbor Capital LLC bought a new stake in Selective Insurance Group in the first quarter worth about $244,000. Amundi lifted its stake in Selective Insurance Group by 163.6% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 13,343 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,006,000 after purchasing an additional 8,281 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in Selective Insurance Group by 27.3% in the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 73,313 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $5,527,000 after purchasing an additional 15,720 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.88% of the company’s stock.

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.