Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC Makes New $7.06 Million Investment in Selective Insurance Group, Inc. $SIGI

Key Points

• Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC acquired a stake of 77,130 shares in Selective Insurance Group, valued at approximately $7,060,000, representing about 0.13% ownership of the company.
• Selective Insurance Group reported earnings of $1.31 per share for the last quarter, which was below the estimated $1.55, resulting in a net margin of 7.50% and revenue of $1.29 billion.
• Institutional investors hold 82.88% of Selective Insurance Group's stock, with recent changes in ratings from analysts indicating a cautious outlook for the stock, including multiple downgrades and a consensus target price of $87.33.

Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 77,130 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $7,060,000. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.13% of Selective Insurance Group at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. AlphaQuest LLC grew its position in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 3,626.6% during the first quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 12,596 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,153,000 after purchasing an additional 12,258 shares in the last quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P boosted its stake in Selective Insurance Group by 0.5% during the first quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 28,140 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,576,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in Selective Insurance Group by 1.7% during the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 10,075 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $922,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in Selective Insurance Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Versor Investments LP bought a new position in Selective Insurance Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $293,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.88% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Selective Insurance Group news, Director Thomas A. Mccarthy purchased 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $77.42 per share, with a total value of $193,550.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 18,746 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,451,315.32. The trade was a 15.39% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Kelly Doherty purchased 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $77.00 per share, with a total value of $115,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 27,110 shares in the company, valued at $2,087,470. The trade was a 5.86% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 10,602 shares of company stock worth $817,440 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Selective Insurance Group Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:SIGI traded up $0.10 during trading on Friday, hitting $78.23. The company had a trading volume of 641,414 shares, compared to its average volume of 549,829. The stock has a market cap of $4.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.80 and a beta of 0.47. Selective Insurance Group, Inc. has a one year low of $71.75 and a one year high of $103.56. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $82.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $85.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.33 and a quick ratio of 0.33.

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

Selective Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Selective Insurance Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SIGI has been the subject of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets set a $88.00 price target on Selective Insurance Group and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen raised Selective Insurance Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Selective Insurance Group from $92.00 to $84.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Morgan Stanley lowered Selective Insurance Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $86.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Selective Insurance Group from $88.00 to $79.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $87.33.

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.