Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) Given Average Rating of "Hold" by Analysts

Shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI - Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of "Hold" by the seven research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $93.50.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on SIGI. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Selective Insurance Group from $93.00 to $92.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. StockNews.com upgraded Selective Insurance Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Selective Insurance Group from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Selective Insurance Group from $95.00 to $87.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a research note on Thursday, January 30th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Selective Insurance Group news, CAO Anthony D. Harnett sold 1,352 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.06, for a total value of $117,705.12. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 15,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,388,258.76. The trade was a 7.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Selective Insurance Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SIGI. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 171.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 114,790 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $10,711,000 after purchasing an additional 72,530 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 38.4% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 6,296 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $603,000 after purchasing an additional 1,747 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 37.1% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 429 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in Selective Insurance Group by 957.1% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 444 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 402 shares during the period. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Selective Insurance Group by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 19,782 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,850,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.88% of the company's stock.

Selective Insurance Group Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of Selective Insurance Group stock opened at $89.09 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $5.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.67 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.34. Selective Insurance Group has a 52-week low of $78.13 and a 52-week high of $103.56. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $88.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $90.70.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.86 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $1.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.30 billion. Selective Insurance Group had a net margin of 4.26% and a return on equity of 7.33%. The firm's revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.33 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Selective Insurance Group will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Selective Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.71%. Selective Insurance Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.42%.

About Selective Insurance Group

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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