Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) Rating Increased to Moderate Buy at Royal Bank Of Canada

Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded shares of Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) to a moderate buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Selective Insurance Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $81.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Selective Insurance Group from $84.00 to $82.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 24th. Zacks Research upgraded Selective Insurance Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Selective Insurance Group from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $81.80.

Selective Insurance Group Stock Performance

Shares of Selective Insurance Group stock opened at $79.42 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $79.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $81.91. The firm has a market cap of $4.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.24 and a beta of 0.39. Selective Insurance Group has a 12 month low of $71.75 and a 12 month high of $103.56.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The insurance provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.35 billion. Selective Insurance Group had a net margin of 7.78% and a return on equity of 12.96%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.40 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Selective Insurance Group will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Selective Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 14th will be given a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. This is an increase from Selective Insurance Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Selective Insurance Group’s payout ratio is 26.50%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in Selective Insurance Group by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 10,075 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $922,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 13.3% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 28,854 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,641,000 after buying an additional 3,377 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Selective Insurance Group during the first quarter valued at $1,007,000. Arkadios Wealth Advisors purchased a new position in Selective Insurance Group in the second quarter valued at $299,000. Finally, United Services Automobile Association purchased a new position in Selective Insurance Group in the first quarter valued at $355,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.88% of the company’s stock.

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.