Vest Financial LLC Increases Stake in Selective Insurance Group, Inc. $SIGI

Key Points

• Vest Financial LLC raised its stake in Selective Insurance Group by 119.0% in Q4, adding 21,726 shares to hold 39,983 shares worth about $3.35 million (roughly 0.07% of the company).
• Multiple institutional investors including AQR, Dimensional, Bank of America, Franklin Resources and Tributary Capital markedly increased positions, leaving institutional ownership at 82.88%.
• Selective missed Q1 EPS estimates ($1.69 vs. $1.81) despite revenue growth, announced a $0.43 quarterly dividend (annualized yield ~2.0%), and holds an average analyst rating of Hold with a $84.40 consensus target.

Vest Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI - Free Report) by 119.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 39,983 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 21,726 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC owned about 0.07% of Selective Insurance Group worth $3,345,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 62.9% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,596,709 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $208,048,000 after acquiring an additional 1,003,064 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,270,387 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $102,982,000 after acquiring an additional 17,511 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 40.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 725,980 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $62,906,000 after acquiring an additional 207,258 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 58.9% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 552,880 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $44,822,000 after acquiring an additional 204,947 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tributary Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 91.2% during the 3rd quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 552,650 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $44,803,000 after acquiring an additional 263,631 shares during the last quarter. 82.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Selective Insurance Group Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of SIGI opened at $84.68 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $5.07 billion, a PE ratio of 11.58 and a beta of 0.26. The business has a fifty day moving average of $79.61 and a 200 day moving average of $80.97. Selective Insurance Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $71.75 and a 52-week high of $91.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The insurance provider reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.81 by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. Selective Insurance Group had a return on equity of 13.71% and a net margin of 8.39%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.76 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Selective Insurance Group, Inc. will post 7.66 EPS for the current year.

Selective Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Selective Insurance Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SIGI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Selective Insurance Group from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $95.00 target price on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on Selective Insurance Group from $79.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Selective Insurance Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $84.40.

About Selective Insurance Group

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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