Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen
by Doug Wharley · The Cerbat GemWall Street Zen cut shares of Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI – Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Sunday,Wall Street Zen reports.
A number of other research analysts also recently commented on SIGI. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Selective Insurance Group from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $105.00 to $97.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 28th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $101.83.
Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on SIGI
Selective Insurance Group Stock Performance
Shares of SIGI opened at $100.57 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.74 and a beta of 0.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The business’s 50 day moving average is $89.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $87.76. Selective Insurance Group has a 52-week low of $72.78 and a 52-week high of $101.88.
Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The insurance provider reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.91 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. Selective Insurance Group had a net margin of 9.40% and a return on equity of 15.60%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.85 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Selective Insurance Group will post 8.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Selective Insurance Group Increases Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. This is a positive change from Selective Insurance Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 16th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Selective Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.67%.
Insider Activity
In related news, Director Cynthia Nicholson sold 3,691 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.71, for a total transaction of $364,338.61. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 17,463 shares in the company, valued at $1,723,772.73. This trade represents a 17.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Trading of Selective Insurance Group
Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Selective Insurance Group in the second quarter valued at $754,557,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 33.3% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,381,867 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $104,179,000 after acquiring an additional 345,348 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 3.4% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,359,224 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $102,473,000 after acquiring an additional 44,532 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in shares of Selective Insurance Group during the second quarter worth about $77,149,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 759,122 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $57,230,000 after acquiring an additional 18,675 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.88% of the company’s stock.
About Selective Insurance Group
Selective Insurance Group, Inc is a holding company for a group of property and casualty insurance subsidiaries. Founded in 1926 and headquartered in Branchville, New Jersey, the company provides insurance products and related services primarily through a network of independent agents.
Selective serves commercial, personal and public-sector customers. Its commercial offerings include business owners policies, commercial automobile, workers’ compensation, general liability, commercial property and other specialty coverages.
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