Zacks Research Analysts Lower Earnings Estimates for SIGI

Key Points

• Zacks Research lowered Selective Insurance Group’s Q4 2027 EPS estimate to $2.76 from $2.79, while projecting $9.12 in full-year 2028 EPS.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: SIGI has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $99.33, with recent downgrades from several firms.
• Shares opened at $84.92, below their moving averages, while the company reported stronger-than-expected recent quarterly results and pays a $0.43 quarterly dividend, yielding about 2.0%.

Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI - Free Report) - Equities research analysts at Zacks Research reduced their Q4 2027 earnings per share estimates for shares of Selective Insurance Group in a research report issued on Thursday, October 8th. Zacks Research analyst Team now anticipates that the insurance provider will post earnings per share of $2.76 for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $2.79. The consensus estimate for Selective Insurance Group's current full-year earnings is $8.12 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Selective Insurance Group's Q1 2028 earnings at $2.53 EPS, Q2 2028 earnings at $2.49 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $9.12 EPS.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on SIGI. Weiss Ratings lowered Selective Insurance Group from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Selective Insurance Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and set a $97.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $72.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $101.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $105.00 to $97.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $99.33.

Selective Insurance Group Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of Selective Insurance Group stock opened at $84.92 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $89.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $89.02. Selective Insurance Group has a fifty-two week low of $72.78 and a fifty-two week high of $100.40. The firm has a market cap of $5.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.54 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.29. Selective Insurance Group had a return on equity of 14.51% and a net margin of 9.10%. The company had revenue of $1.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.30 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Selective Insurance Group

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Selective Insurance Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $754,557,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 33.3% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,381,867 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $104,179,000 after buying an additional 345,348 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 3.4% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,359,224 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $102,473,000 after buying an additional 44,532 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in Selective Insurance Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $77,149,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Selective Insurance Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $63,423,000. 82.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Selective Insurance Group

In other news, EVP Michael Lanza sold 17,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.04, for a total transaction of $1,608,084.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 16,565 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,557,772.60. This trade represents a 50.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Selective Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 17th. Selective Insurance Group's dividend payout ratio is 21.34%.

About Selective Insurance Group

Selective Insurance Group, Inc is an insurance holding company headquartered in Branchville, New Jersey. Founded in 1926, the company provides property and casualty insurance through a network of independent agents and operates primarily in the United States.

Selective offers commercial insurance products for businesses, including property, general liability, commercial automobile, workers' compensation and related coverage. Its personal insurance business provides products such as homeowners, renters and automobile insurance.

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