Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) Given a $88.00 Price Target by BMO Capital Markets Analysts

Key Points

• BMO Capital Markets has lowered its price target for Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) from $96.00 to $88.00, while maintaining an "outperform" rating.
• Selective Insurance Group reported $1.31 earnings per share for the last quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.55, with revenue of $1.29 billion.
• Insider buying activities included Director Terrence W. Cavanaugh purchasing 2,000 shares at an average cost of $75.72 per share, increasing his position by 8.59%.

BMO Capital Markets set a $88.00 price target on Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI - Free Report) in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the insurance provider's stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Selective Insurance Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on 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. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $88.00 to $79.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut shares of Selective Insurance Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $86.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $87.33.

Selective Insurance Group Price Performance

SIGI opened at $79.03 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $4.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.93 and a beta of 0.47. Selective Insurance Group has a 12-month low of $71.75 and a 12-month 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. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $85.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $86.57.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI - Get Free Report) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.32 billion. Selective Insurance Group had a net margin of 7.50% and a return on equity of 12.61%. During the same period last year, the business earned ($1.10) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Selective Insurance Group will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Selective Insurance Group Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Selective Insurance Group

In other news, Director Thomas A. Mccarthy bought 2,500 shares of Selective Insurance Group stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The shares were bought at an average price of $77.42 per share, with a total value of $193,550.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 18,746 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,451,315.32. This represents a 15.39% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John J. Marchioni bought 3,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $77.89 per share, with a total value of $249,248.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 139,775 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,887,074.75. The trade was a 2.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired 10,602 shares of company stock worth $817,440 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 2.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,756,225 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $618,465,000 after buying an additional 135,324 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,150,662 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $99,705,000 after purchasing an additional 22,410 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 6.0% during the second quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 1,109,922 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $96,175,000 after purchasing an additional 63,255 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Selective Insurance Group by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,052,142 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $98,396,000 after buying an additional 89,692 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Selective Insurance Group by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 891,871 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $81,642,000 after buying an additional 7,641 shares in the last quarter. 82.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.