Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) Upgraded by BMO Capital Markets to “Outperform” Rating

BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has $105.00 price target on the insurance provider’s stock, up from their prior price target of $95.00.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on SIGI. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $104.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Bank of America raised their target price on Selective Insurance Group from $96.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Selective Insurance Group from $96.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Selective Insurance Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $104.00 to $99.00 in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Selective Insurance Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $101.67.

Selective Insurance Group Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:SIGI opened at $91.83 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $91.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $93.29. Selective Insurance Group has a 1 year low of $81.00 and a 1 year high of $109.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The company has a market capitalization of $5.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.56.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.69 by ($0.29). The company had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. Selective Insurance Group had a return on equity of 8.11% and a net margin of 5.01%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.51 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Selective Insurance Group will post 3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Selective Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This is a boost from Selective Insurance Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Selective Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Selective Insurance Group

In other news, CAO Anthony D. Harnett sold 1,404 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.61, for a total transaction of $130,024.44. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 15,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,476,759.06. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Selective Insurance Group

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SIGI. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in Selective Insurance Group during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 81.5% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 323 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Selective Insurance Group in the second quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Selective Insurance Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $48,000. 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.