Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 121,487 Shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. $SIGI

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group boosted its stake in Selective Insurance Group by 92.2% in Q1, buying 121,487 additional shares and ending with 253,223 shares worth about $19.1 million.
• Institutional ownership remains heavy, with 82.88% of SIGI shares held by institutions and hedge funds, and several other investors also significantly increased their positions.
• Selective Insurance Group reported Q1 EPS of $1.69, missing analyst expectations, though revenue of $1.36 billion topped estimates and rose 5.7% year over year.

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI - Free Report) by 92.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 253,223 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 121,487 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.42% of Selective Insurance Group worth $19,090,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SIGI. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in Selective Insurance Group by 381.2% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 28,347 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,372,000 after buying an additional 22,456 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank increased its position in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 94.8% during the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 55,955 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $4,682,000 after acquiring an additional 27,236 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group during the second quarter worth $468,000. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 138.0% during the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 62,686 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $5,245,000 after acquiring an additional 36,351 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 103.6% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 27,039 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,262,000 after acquiring an additional 13,757 shares during the period. 82.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Selective Insurance Group Stock Performance

Shares of SIGI stock opened at $96.08 on Thursday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $92.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $85.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market cap of $5.75 billion, a PE ratio of 13.14 and a beta of 0.29. Selective Insurance Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $71.75 and a 12 month high of $100.40.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The insurance provider reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.81 by ($0.12). Selective Insurance Group had a net margin of 8.39% and a return on equity of 13.71%. The business had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.76 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Selective Insurance Group, Inc. will post 7.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SIGI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Selective Insurance Group from $93.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Selective Insurance Group from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Selective Insurance Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $84.00 to $97.00 in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Selective Insurance Group from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Selective Insurance Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $99.33.

Selective Insurance Group Company Profile

Selective Insurance Group, Inc is an insurance holding company headquartered in Branchville, New Jersey. The organization traces its roots to a regional provider of property and casualty coverage and became a publicly traded holding company following its initial public offering in 1999. Since its formation, Selective has expanded through strategic acquisitions and organic growth initiatives to broaden its product offerings and strengthen its market position.

The company's core business encompasses a broad range of property and casualty insurance products designed to serve both commercial and personal lines customers.

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