Royal Bank Of Canada Reaffirms "Outperform" Rating for Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI)

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an Outperform rating on Selective Insurance (NASDAQ:SIGI) with a $95 price target, implying roughly a 26.4% upside versus the current share price and well above the Street's average $83 target and consensus "Hold" rating.
• Recent quarter: SIGI reported EPS of $2.57 versus $2.24 expected and revenue of $1.36B (up 8.6% YoY); the stock trades at a PE of about 9.98 with a market cap near $4.5B.
• Heavy institutional ownership at ~82.9%, highlighted by AQR's substantial 56% stake increase and Norges Bank establishing a new ~$65.6M position, signaling significant investor interest.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "outperform" rating reiterated by equities research analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $95.00 target price on the insurance provider's stock. Royal Bank Of Canada's price target would indicate a potential upside of 26.39% from the stock's current price.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on SIGI. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $79.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Selective Insurance Group from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $83.00.

Selective Insurance Group Stock Performance

Shares of SIGI opened at $75.16 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market cap of $4.52 billion, a PE ratio of 9.98 and a beta of 0.23. Selective Insurance Group has a 1 year low of $71.75 and a 1 year high of $93.38. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $82.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.11.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.33. Selective Insurance Group had a net margin of 8.74% and a return on equity of 14.23%. The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.36 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.62 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Selective Insurance Group will post 7.62 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Selective Insurance Group

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SIGI. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Selective Insurance Group by 56.3% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,059,547 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $339,662,000 after buying an additional 1,462,838 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Selective Insurance Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,625,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in Selective Insurance Group by 239.1% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,036,519 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $86,726,000 after acquiring an additional 730,890 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 4,903.4% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 347,933 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $30,148,000 after acquiring an additional 340,979 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 1,299.9% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 301,965 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $24,480,000 after acquiring an additional 280,395 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.88% of the company's stock.

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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