Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) Stock Has Average Target Price of $101.00 According to Brokerages

Shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seven ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $101.83.

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Selective Insurance Group from $101.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen raised Selective Insurance Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings raised Selective Insurance Group from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Cynthia Nicholson sold 3,691 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.71, for a total value of $364,338.61. Following the sale, the director directly owned 17,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,723,772.73. This represents a 17.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Selective Insurance Group

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Selective Insurance Group in the second quarter worth $754,557,000. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $77,149,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Selective Insurance Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $63,423,000. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new position in shares of Selective Insurance Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $47,558,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Selective Insurance Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $47,482,000. 82.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Selective Insurance Group Stock Performance

Shares of SIGI opened at $98.83 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $89.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $87.58. Selective Insurance Group has a 12 month low of $72.78 and a 12 month high of $101.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.58 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The insurance provider reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.91 by $0.46. The company had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. Selective Insurance Group had a net margin of 9.40% and a return on equity of 15.60%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.85 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Selective Insurance Group will post 8.44 EPS for the current year.

Selective Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 16th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 16th. This is an increase from Selective Insurance Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Selective Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.67%.

Selective Insurance Group Company Profile

Selective Insurance Group, Inc is a holding company for a group of property and casualty insurance subsidiaries. Founded in 1926 and headquartered in Branchville, New Jersey, the company provides insurance products and related services primarily through a network of independent agents.

Selective serves commercial, personal and public-sector customers. Its commercial offerings include business owners policies, commercial automobile, workers’ compensation, general liability, commercial property and other specialty coverages.