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

Shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eight research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings 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 12 month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $98.71.

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and set a $93.00 target price (down from $116.00) on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a research report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Selective Insurance Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $95.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $95.00 to $87.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price 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.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Selective Insurance Group

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SIGI. FMR LLC lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 1,216,801 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Selective Insurance Group in the fourth quarter valued at $69,504,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Selective Insurance Group in the third quarter valued at $37,726,000. Eagle Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 112.7% in the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 427,180 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $42,667,000 after acquiring an additional 226,387 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Selective Insurance Group in the fourth quarter valued at $203,000. 82.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Selective Insurance Group Stock Down 0.5 %

SIGI stock opened at $85.24 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.47 and a beta of 0.61. Selective Insurance Group has a fifty-two week low of $80.84 and a fifty-two week high of $109.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.34. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $93.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $92.56.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) last announced 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 net margin of 4.26% and a return on equity of 7.33%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Selective Insurance Group will post 7.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Selective Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Selective Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.20%.

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.