Emerald Advisers LLC Acquires New Shares in Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI)

Emerald Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 126,125 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $11,767,000.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in Selective Insurance Group by 40.0% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 34,759 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,313,000 after buying an additional 9,931 shares in the last quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust bought a new position in Selective Insurance Group in the third quarter valued at about $8,656,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its position in Selective Insurance Group by 10.2% in the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 179,741 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $16,770,000 after purchasing an additional 16,689 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its position in Selective Insurance Group by 15.0% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 22,150 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,067,000 after purchasing an additional 2,896 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tributary Capital Management LLC raised its position in Selective Insurance Group by 12.0% in the third quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 313,952 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $29,292,000 after purchasing an additional 33,681 shares during the last quarter. 82.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Selective Insurance Group Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of SIGI traded up $1.59 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $92.41. 429,462 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 391,377. Selective Insurance Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $81.00 and a 52 week high of $109.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.62 billion, a PE ratio of 24.91, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.57. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $92.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $93.14.

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

Selective Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.64%. This is a boost from Selective Insurance Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Selective Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Anthony D. Harnett sold 1,404 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.61, for a total transaction of $130,024.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 15,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,476,759.06. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on SIGI shares. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Selective Insurance Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $95.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America increased their target price on Selective Insurance Group from $96.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Selective Insurance Group from $96.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.67.

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.