Bayforest Capital Ltd Acquires Shares of 7,672 Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI)

Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 7,672 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $702,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SIGI. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group in the 1st quarter worth $1,155,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP raised its stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 424.4% during the 1st quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 26,015 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,381,000 after buying an additional 21,054 shares in the last quarter. First National Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $542,000. LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 7.9% during the first quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 58,594 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $5,364,000 after acquiring an additional 4,288 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in Selective Insurance Group by 10.4% in the first quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 18,773 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,718,000 after acquiring an additional 1,775 shares in the last quarter. 82.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on SIGI shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Selective Insurance Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Selective Insurance Group from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Selective Insurance Group from $92.00 to $84.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $88.00 to $79.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $90.00 to $86.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $91.00.

Selective Insurance Group Trading Down 0.6%

SIGI traded down $0.50 during trading on Friday, hitting $77.47. The company's stock had a trading volume of 639,948 shares, compared to its average volume of 728,057. Selective Insurance Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $71.75 and a twelve month high of $103.56. The stock has a market cap of $4.71 billion, a PE ratio of 12.68 and a beta of 0.47. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $85.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $86.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.33 and a quick ratio of 0.35.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.55 by ($0.24). The company had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.32 billion. Selective Insurance Group had a return on equity of 12.61% and a net margin of 7.50%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($1.10) EPS. On average, analysts expect that Selective Insurance Group, Inc. will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Selective Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Selective Insurance Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 24.88%.

Insider Transactions at Selective Insurance Group

In other news, EVP Joseph Eppers bought 1,402 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $76.82 per share, for a total transaction of $107,701.64. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president owned 12,492 shares of the company's stock, valued at $959,635.44. This trade represents a 12.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Terrence W. Cavanaugh purchased 2,000 shares of Selective Insurance Group stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $75.72 per share, for a total transaction of $151,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 25,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,915,337.40. This represents a 8.59% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 9,102 shares of company stock valued at $701,940. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Selective Insurance Group

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.