Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) Shares Gap Down on Disappointing Earnings

Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Thursday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $94.02, but opened at $88.56. Selective Insurance Group shares last traded at $85.47, with a volume of 158,314 shares changing hands.

The insurance provider reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.99 by ($0.37). Selective Insurance Group had a return on equity of 7.33% and a net margin of 4.26%.

Selective Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.83%. Selective Insurance Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 47.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SIGI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Selective Insurance Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $95.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $95.00 to $87.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $96.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $102.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 28.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,468,801 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $510,239,000 after acquiring an additional 1,216,801 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,401,897 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $224,097,000 after acquiring an additional 71,296 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,586,527 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $148,048,000 after acquiring an additional 26,880 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 1,055,321 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $98,694,000 after acquiring an additional 84,341 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 867,691 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $80,956,000 after acquiring an additional 21,374 shares during the period. 82.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Selective Insurance Group Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $5.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.77 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The company's 50 day moving average price is $94.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $92.77.

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.