Brokerages Set Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) Price Target at $87.33

Key Points

• Selective Insurance Group, Inc. has received a consensus recommendation of "Reduce" from seven research firms, with two analysts rating it as a sell, four as hold, and one as buy.
• The company recently reported a missed earnings estimate, posting $1.31 EPS compared to the consensus of $1.55, and revenue of $1.29 billion versus an estimated $1.32 billion.
• Insider transactions show recent confidence in the company, with executives acquiring a total of 10,602 shares valued at approximately $817,440 in the last three months.

Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI - Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of "Reduce" by the seven brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $87.3333.

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SIGI shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $92.00 to $84.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Selective Insurance Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Selective Insurance Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and cut their target price for the company from $86.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $88.00 to $79.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $88.00 target price on shares of Selective Insurance Group and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th.

Selective Insurance Group Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of SIGI traded up $0.10 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $78.23. 641,414 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 549,599. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $82.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $85.29. The company has a market cap of $4.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.80 and a beta of 0.44. Selective Insurance Group has a 1-year low of $71.75 and a 1-year high of $103.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.55 by ($0.24). The company had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.32 billion. Selective Insurance Group had a return on equity of 12.61% and a net margin of 7.50%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($1.10) EPS. Research analysts expect that Selective Insurance Group will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Selective Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Selective Insurance Group's payout ratio is presently 24.88%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert Kelly Doherty bought 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $77.00 per share, with a total value of $115,500.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 27,110 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,087,470. This represents a 5.86% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Joseph Eppers acquired 1,402 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The stock was bought at an average price of $76.82 per share, with a total value of $107,701.64. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president directly owned 12,492 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $959,635.44. This represents a 12.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired a total of 10,602 shares of company stock worth $817,440 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,756,225 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $618,465,000 after purchasing an additional 135,324 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 174.6% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,593,645 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $137,340,000 after buying an additional 1,013,371 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,150,662 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $99,705,000 after buying an additional 22,410 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 1,109,922 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $96,175,000 after buying an additional 63,255 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,052,142 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $98,396,000 after buying an additional 89,692 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.88% of the company's stock.

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.