Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) Reaches New 12-Month High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Selective Insurance shares reached a new 52-week high of $101.48, rising 2% and trading above both their 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• The company reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $2.37 beating estimates by $0.46 and revenue of $1.33 billion exceeding expectations.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: the consensus rating is “Hold” with a $101.83 target price, while Selective increased its quarterly dividend to $0.48 per share, representing a 1.9% yield.

Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday. The company traded as high as $101.48 and last traded at $100.76, with a volume of 629,806 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $98.83.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SIGI has been the subject of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings raised Selective Insurance Group from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 27th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Selective Insurance Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Selective Insurance Group from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Selective Insurance Group from $101.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Selective Insurance Group has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $101.83.

Selective Insurance Group Trading Up 2.0%

The firm has a market cap of $5.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.11 and a beta of 0.26. The company's 50 day moving average is $89.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $87.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.29.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The insurance provider reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.91 by $0.46. Selective Insurance Group had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 9.40%. The firm had revenue of $1.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.85 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Selective Insurance Group, Inc. will post 8.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Selective Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. This is a boost from Selective Insurance Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 16th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Selective Insurance Group's payout ratio is presently 23.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Selective Insurance Group

In related news, Director Cynthia Nicholson sold 3,691 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.71, for a total value of $364,338.61. Following the sale, the director owned 17,463 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,723,772.73. The trade was a 17.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.82% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Selective Insurance Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group during the second quarter worth approximately $754,557,000. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 33.3% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,381,867 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $104,179,000 after acquiring an additional 345,348 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Selective Insurance Group by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,359,224 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $102,473,000 after acquiring an additional 44,532 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in Selective Insurance Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $77,149,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Selective Insurance Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $63,423,000. 82.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Selective Insurance Group

Selective Insurance Group, Inc is a holding company for a group of property and casualty insurance subsidiaries. Founded in 1926 and headquartered in Branchville, New Jersey, the company provides insurance products and related services primarily through a network of independent agents.

Selective serves commercial, personal and public-sector customers. Its commercial offerings include business owners policies, commercial automobile, workers' compensation, general liability, commercial property and other specialty coverages.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.