Zacks Research Has Pessimistic Outlook of SIGI Q2 Earnings

Key Points

• Zacks Research has reduced its Q2 2026 earnings per share estimate for Selective Insurance Group from $1.90 to $1.89.
• Morgan Stanley has downgraded Selective Insurance Group from "equal weight" to "underweight", lowering its price objective from $86 to $72.
• Selective Insurance Group reported a net margin of 7.50% in its latest quarterly earnings, missing analysts' consensus estimates by $0.24.

Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI - Free Report) - Investment analysts at Zacks Research cut their Q2 2026 earnings per share estimates for shares of Selective Insurance Group in a research note issued on Wednesday, September 24th. Zacks Research analyst Team now expects that the insurance provider will earn $1.89 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $1.90. The consensus estimate for Selective Insurance Group's current full-year earnings is $7.62 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Selective Insurance Group's FY2026 earnings at $8.06 EPS and Q2 2027 earnings at $1.98 EPS.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley downgraded Selective Insurance Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $86.00 to $72.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Selective Insurance Group from $92.00 to $84.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $88.00 price objective on shares of Selective Insurance Group and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $87.33.

Selective Insurance Group Stock Up 0.7%

SIGI stock opened at $78.83 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.90 and a beta of 0.44. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $79.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $84.73. Selective Insurance Group has a 12 month low of $71.75 and a 12 month high of $103.56.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 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 firm earned ($1.10) EPS.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Selective Insurance Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SIGI. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 174.6% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,593,645 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $137,340,000 after purchasing an additional 1,013,371 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Selective Insurance Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $61,437,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Selective Insurance Group in the first quarter valued at $36,943,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 4,903.4% in the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 347,933 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $30,148,000 after purchasing an additional 340,979 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 36.2% in the 1st quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,128,252 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $103,280,000 after purchasing an additional 299,925 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.88% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Selective Insurance Group

In related news, Director Robert Kelly Doherty purchased 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $77.00 per share, for a total transaction of $115,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 27,110 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,087,470. This represents a 5.86% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Joseph Eppers purchased 1,402 shares of Selective Insurance Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $76.82 per share, with a total value of $107,701.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 12,492 shares in the company, 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders bought 10,602 shares of company stock valued at $817,440. Insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Selective Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were 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 was Friday, August 15th. Selective Insurance Group's dividend payout ratio is 24.88%.

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.

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