Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.38

Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, July 23rd, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of 0.38 per share by the insurance provider on Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th.

Selective Insurance Group has a dividend payout ratio of 18.1% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Selective Insurance Group to earn $8.40 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.52 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 18.1%.

Selective Insurance Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ SIGI traded up $3.31 on Friday, hitting $78.31. 1,073,922 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 431,378. The firm has a market cap of $4.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.83 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.35. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $86.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $87.39. Selective Insurance Group has a fifty-two week low of $71.75 and a fifty-two week high of $103.56.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.55 by ($0.24). The business had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.32 billion. Selective Insurance Group had a return on equity of 12.81% and a net margin of 7.50%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($1.10) earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Selective Insurance Group will post 7.62 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on SIGI. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Selective Insurance Group from $93.00 to $92.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen raised Selective Insurance Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Selective Insurance Group from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Selective Insurance Group from $90.00 to $86.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $88.00 to $79.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Selective Insurance Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $92.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Terrence W. Cavanaugh acquired 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $75.72 per share, with a total value of $151,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 25,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,915,337.40. This represents a 8.59% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Selective Insurance Group

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Amundi grew its stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 398.7% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 389 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 17.9% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 2,705 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $248,000 after buying an additional 411 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 5.5% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 213,627 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $19,555,000 after buying an additional 11,167 shares during the period. 82.88% of the stock is owned by 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.