Ieq Capital LLC Purchases New Holdings in Selective Insurance Group, Inc. $SIGI

Key Points

• Ieq Capital LLC has acquired a new stake of 8,320 shares in Selective Insurance Group, Inc. valued at approximately $762,000, highlighting strong institutional interest in the company.
• Insider purchases indicate confidence in the company with EVP Joseph Eppers and CEO John J. Marchioni increasing their holdings, accumulating a total of 10,602 shares valued at over $817,000 in the last three months.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on the stock, with ratings ranging from "buy" to "underweight" and price targets varying from $72.00 to $92.00, reflecting uncertainty amid a recent earnings miss.

Ieq Capital LLC bought a new stake in Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 8,320 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $762,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SIGI. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC boosted its position in Selective Insurance Group by 2.9% in the first quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 115,325 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $10,557,000 after buying an additional 3,225 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 273.5% during the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 261,165 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $23,907,000 after purchasing an additional 191,237 shares during the period. Systematic Financial Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 327,707 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $29,998,000 after purchasing an additional 13,435 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Selective Insurance Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $7,060,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC raised its position in Selective Insurance Group by 3,626.6% in the 1st quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 12,596 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,153,000 after purchasing an additional 12,258 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.88% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO John J. Marchioni purchased 3,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $77.89 per share, with a total value of $249,248.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 139,775 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,887,074.75. The trade was a 2.34% 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, EVP Joseph Eppers purchased 1,402 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $76.82 per share, with a total value of $107,701.64. Following the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought 10,602 shares of company stock valued at $817,440 in the last 90 days. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Selective Insurance Group Trading Down 1.5%

Selective Insurance Group stock traded down $1.23 during trading on Friday, hitting $79.81. The company's stock had a trading volume of 388,055 shares, compared to its average volume of 505,761. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.06 and a beta of 0.44. The stock's fifty day moving average is $81.51 and its 200 day moving average is $85.21. Selective Insurance Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $71.75 and a 1-year high of $103.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.33.

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

Selective Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were given a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. Selective Insurance Group's payout ratio is 24.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.