Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) Shares Gap Up - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Selective Insurance Group shares gapped up premarket, opening at $86.17 versus the prior close of $82.48 and trading around $86.03 (volume ~30,327), sitting above its 50- and 200-day moving averages of $79.64 and $80.92.
• Analyst consensus is a Hold with an average target of $84.40; recent notes include Keefe Bruyette & Woods raising its target to $88 and RBC reiterating an Outperform with a $95 target, while broker ratings are 1 Buy / 5 Hold / 1 Sell.
• Q1 results showed an EPS miss ($1.69 vs. $1.81) but a revenue beat and 5.7% YoY revenue growth; the company trades at a PE of 11.77, market cap ~ $5.16B, and pays a quarterly dividend of $0.43 (annual yield ~2.0%).

Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI - Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $82.48, but opened at $86.17. Selective Insurance Group shares last traded at $86.0320, with a volume of 30,327 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $95.00 price objective on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Selective Insurance Group from $79.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $84.40.

Selective Insurance Group Stock Up 1.0%

The company's fifty day simple moving average is $79.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $80.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.16 billion, a PE ratio of 11.77 and a beta of 0.26.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The insurance provider reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.81 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.29 billion. Selective Insurance Group had a return on equity of 13.71% and a net margin of 8.39%.The firm's revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.76 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Selective Insurance Group, Inc. will post 7.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Selective Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Selective Insurance Group's dividend payout ratio is 23.53%.

Institutional Trading of Selective Insurance Group

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new position in shares of Selective Insurance Group in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Selective Insurance Group in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. First Horizon Corp purchased a new stake in Selective Insurance Group in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Amundi grew its position in Selective Insurance Group by 398.7% during the 1st 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. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC grew its position in Selective Insurance Group by 45.9% during the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 410 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.88% of the company's stock.

Selective Insurance Group Company Profile

Selective Insurance Group, Inc is an insurance holding company headquartered in Branchville, New Jersey. The organization traces its roots to a regional provider of property and casualty coverage and became a publicly traded holding company following its initial public offering in 1999. Since its formation, Selective has expanded through strategic acquisitions and organic growth initiatives to broaden its product offerings and strengthen its market position.

The company's core business encompasses a broad range of property and casualty insurance products designed to serve both commercial and personal lines customers.

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