Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) Coverage Initiated at Morgan Stanley

Equities researchers at Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) in a research note issued on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage set an “equal weight” rating and a $105.00 price target on the insurance provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 6.35% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on SIGI. BMO Capital Markets raised Selective Insurance Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Selective Insurance Group from $96.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on Selective Insurance Group from $96.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Selective Insurance Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $102.14.

Selective Insurance Group Price Performance

Shares of Selective Insurance Group stock opened at $98.73 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $96.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $93.04. Selective Insurance Group has a 52 week low of $81.00 and a 52 week high of $109.58. The stock has a market cap of $6.00 billion, a PE ratio of 26.61 and a beta of 0.60.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by ($0.29). The company had revenue of $1.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.17 billion. Selective Insurance Group had a return on equity of 8.11% and a net margin of 5.01%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.51 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Selective Insurance Group will post 3.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Selective Insurance Group

In related news, CAO Anthony D. Harnett sold 1,404 shares of the business’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 value 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 approximately $1,476,759.06. The trade was a 8.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Selective Insurance Group

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Selective Insurance Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 81.5% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 323 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Selective Insurance Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 18.1% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,840 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $172,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.88% of the company’s stock.

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.