Brokerages Set Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) Price Target at $95.17

Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the seven brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $95.17.

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $93.00 target price (down previously from $116.00) on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a research note on Friday, February 7th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $95.00 to $87.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd.

Insider Transactions at Selective Insurance Group

In other Selective Insurance Group news, CAO Anthony D. Harnett sold 1,352 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.06, for a total transaction of $117,705.12. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 15,946 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,388,258.76. This trade represents a 7.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Selective Insurance Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its stake in Selective Insurance Group by 36.2% during the first quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,128,252 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $103,280,000 after acquiring an additional 299,925 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 1,055,321 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $98,694,000 after buying an additional 84,341 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Selective Insurance Group by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,052,142 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $98,396,000 after buying an additional 89,692 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Selective Insurance Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $93,409,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 884,230 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $82,693,000 after acquiring an additional 16,539 shares in the last quarter. 82.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Selective Insurance Group Price Performance

SIGI stock traded down $0.72 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $86.85. 165,535 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 384,250. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $86.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $91.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 0.34. The stock has a market cap of $5.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.97 and a beta of 0.45. Selective Insurance Group has a fifty-two week low of $78.13 and a fifty-two week high of $103.60.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.86 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $1.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.30 billion. Selective Insurance Group had a return on equity of 7.33% and a net margin of 4.26%. Selective Insurance Group's quarterly revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.33 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Selective Insurance Group will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Selective Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Selective Insurance Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.42%.

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.