Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) Stock

Key Points

• Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Selective Insurance Group’s price target to $102 from $101 while maintaining a “market perform” rating, implying 5.5% upside. Analysts overall have a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $100.33.
• Selective Insurance Group exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.95 in EPS versus $1.66 expected and revenue of $1.39 billion versus $1.30 billion forecast.
• The stock opened at $96.68, up 2.4%, while institutional ownership stood at 82.88%; meanwhile, executive Michael Lanza sold 17,100 shares worth approximately $1.61 million.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI - Get Free Report) had its target price increased by research analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $101.00 to $102.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "market perform" rating on the insurance provider's stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods' price objective would suggest a potential upside of 5.50% from the company's previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on SIGI. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $93.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Selective Insurance Group from $72.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. BMO Capital Markets cut Selective Insurance Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and set a $97.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Selective Insurance Group from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Selective Insurance Group from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $100.33.

Selective Insurance Group Stock Up 2.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:SIGI opened at $96.68 on Thursday. Selective Insurance Group has a 1 year low of $72.78 and a 1 year high of $100.40. The company has a market capitalization of $5.76 billion, a PE ratio of 12.00 and a beta of 0.29. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $93.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $86.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.30.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $1.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.30 billion. Selective Insurance Group had a net margin of 9.10% and a return on equity of 14.51%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. Analysts forecast that Selective Insurance Group will post 7.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Selective Insurance Group

In other news, EVP Michael H. Lanza sold 17,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.04, for a total value of $1,608,084.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 16,565 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,557,772.60. This trade represents a 50.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.82% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Selective Insurance Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $284,000. Gradient Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 8.0% in the second quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 16,644 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,615,000 after buying an additional 1,228 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 101.6% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 193,405 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $18,762,000 after acquiring an additional 97,469 shares during the period. Baron Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 7.5% in the second quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,722 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $361,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares during the period. Finally, Cim Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Selective Insurance Group by 54.3% during the first quarter. Cim Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,098 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $384,000 after acquiring an additional 1,793 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.88% of the company's stock.

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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