Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) Receives $95.17 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the seven research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $95.17.

SIGI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $95.00 to $87.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $93.00 price target (down from $116.00) on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a research note on Friday, February 7th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Selective Insurance Group news, CAO Anthony D. Harnett sold 1,352 shares of Selective Insurance Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.06, for a total transaction of $117,705.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 15,946 shares in the company, valued at $1,388,258.76. The trade was a 7.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 bought and sold shares of SIGI. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Selective Insurance Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 37.1% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 429 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the period. Toth Financial Advisory Corp purchased a new stake in Selective Insurance Group in the first quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its position 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 valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares in the last quarter. 82.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Selective Insurance Group Stock Up 0.3 %

Selective Insurance Group stock traded up $0.25 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $87.43. The company's stock had a trading volume of 49,200 shares, compared to its average volume of 383,595. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 0.34. Selective Insurance Group has a 12 month low of $78.13 and a 12 month high of $103.60. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $87.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $91.27. The company has a market capitalization of $5.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.09 and a beta of 0.45.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.86 by ($0.10). The firm 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%. Selective Insurance Group's quarterly revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.33 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Selective Insurance Group will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Selective Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Selective Insurance Group's dividend payout ratio 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.