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

Shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eight ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have given a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $81.80.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on SIGI. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Selective Insurance Group from $76.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Selective Insurance Group from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th. BMO Capital Markets lowered Selective Insurance Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $81.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $84.00 to $82.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Selective Insurance Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd.

Selective Insurance Group Stock Performance

Shares of SIGI opened at $83.52 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $79.78 and a 200-day moving average of $80.88. The company has a market cap of $5.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.87 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.32. Selective Insurance Group has a 1 year low of $71.75 and a 1 year high of $96.49.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The insurance provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.35 billion. Selective Insurance Group had a net margin of 7.78% and a return on equity of 12.96%. Selective Insurance Group’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.40 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Selective Insurance Group will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Selective Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 14th were issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. This is a boost from Selective Insurance Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 14th. Selective Insurance Group’s payout ratio is 26.50%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Selective Insurance Group

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Selective Insurance Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $6,372,000. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd bought a new position in Selective Insurance Group during the third quarter valued at about $231,000. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new position in Selective Insurance Group during the third quarter worth about $526,000. Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in Selective Insurance Group in the third quarter worth about $57,000. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new stake in Selective Insurance Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $68,000. 82.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.