Morgan Stanley Issues Positive Forecast for Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) Stock Price

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley has raised its price target for Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) from $72.00 to $73.00, maintaining an "underweight" rating, indicating a potential downside of 13.78% from the current price.
• Selective Insurance Group's most recent earnings report showed a EPS of $1.31, missing estimates, along with revenues of $1.29 billion, which also fell short of expectations.
• Analyst ratings for Selective Insurance Group are mixed, with one "buy", six "hold", and two "sell" ratings, resulting in a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $87.50.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI - Get Free Report) had its price target lifted by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $72.00 to $73.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "underweight" rating on the insurance provider's stock. Morgan Stanley's price objective would suggest a potential downside of 13.78% from the company's current price.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on SIGI. BMO Capital Markets set a $88.00 target price on shares of Selective Insurance Group and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Selective Insurance Group from $92.00 to $84.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Zacks Research raised Selective Insurance Group from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Selective Insurance Group from $88.00 to $79.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $87.50.

Selective Insurance Group Price Performance

Shares of Selective Insurance Group stock traded up $0.47 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $84.67. The stock had a trading volume of 126,661 shares, compared to its average volume of 464,207. The business has a fifty day moving average of $78.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $84.38. Selective Insurance Group has a fifty-two week low of $71.75 and a fifty-two week high of $103.56. The firm has a market cap of $5.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.85 and a beta of 0.39. 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 issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 12.61% and a net margin of 7.50%.The business had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.32 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($1.10) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Selective Insurance Group will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Selective Insurance Group

In related news, EVP Joseph Eppers purchased 1,402 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $76.82 per share, for a total transaction of $107,701.64. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president owned 12,492 shares in the company, valued at $959,635.44. This trade represents a 12.64% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas A. Mccarthy acquired 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $77.42 per share, for a total transaction of $193,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 18,746 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,451,315.32. This represents a 15.39% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have bought 10,602 shares of company stock worth $817,440. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Selective Insurance Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Olde Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group during the first quarter worth $28,000. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in Selective Insurance Group by 219.5% in the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 361 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Amundi raised its stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 398.7% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 389 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Toth Financial Advisory Corp bought a new stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $41,000. 82.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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