Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) Short Interest Update

Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decline in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,180,000 shares, a decline of 16.3% from the January 31st total of 1,410,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 390,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.0 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FMR LLC lifted its position in Selective Insurance Group by 28.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,468,801 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $510,239,000 after purchasing an additional 1,216,801 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in Selective Insurance Group by 3.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,401,897 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $224,097,000 after purchasing an additional 71,296 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Selective Insurance Group by 1.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,586,527 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $148,048,000 after purchasing an additional 26,880 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its position in Selective Insurance Group by 8.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 84,341 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,052,142 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $98,396,000 after acquiring an additional 89,692 shares during the period. 82.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SIGI has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $95.00 to $87.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a "market perform" rating and set a $93.00 price objective (down from $116.00) on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $98.71.

Selective Insurance Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SIGI traded down $0.80 on Friday, hitting $85.10. 343,712 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 356,708. Selective Insurance Group has a 1-year low of $78.13 and a 1-year high of $109.58. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $87.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $92.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.43 and a beta of 0.54.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.99 by ($0.37). Selective Insurance Group had a net margin of 4.26% and a return on equity of 7.33%. Sell-side analysts predict that Selective Insurance Group will post 7.62 EPS for the current year.

Selective Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.79%. Selective Insurance Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 47.20%.

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.