Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) Short Interest Down 33.9% in March

Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 1,267,827 shares, a decrease of 33.9% from the March 15th total of 1,917,383 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 586,814 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.2 days. Approximately 2.1% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SIGI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $79.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Selective Insurance Group from $92.00 to $84.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 price target on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Selective Insurance Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.60.

Selective Insurance Group Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:SIGI traded down $0.26 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $80.64. The stock had a trading volume of 219,322 shares, compared to its average volume of 556,248. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $80.84 and its 200 day moving average is $80.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.32. Selective Insurance Group has a 52 week low of $71.75 and a 52 week high of $93.38. The stock has a market cap of $4.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.77 and a beta of 0.26.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.36 billion. Selective Insurance Group had a net margin of 8.74% and a return on equity of 14.23%. Selective Insurance Group’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.62 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Selective Insurance Group will post 7.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Selective Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th were given a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Selective Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.96%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Selective Insurance Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new stake in Selective Insurance Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,115,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its stake in Selective Insurance Group by 177.8% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,928 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $245,000 after acquiring an additional 1,874 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $306,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its position in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 117.4% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 13,171 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,102,000 after purchasing an additional 7,112 shares during the period. Finally, Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Selective Insurance Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $277,000. Institutional investors own 82.88% of the company’s stock.

About Selective Insurance Group

Selective Insurance Group, Inc is an insurance holding company headquartered in Branchville, New Jersey. The organization traces its roots to a regional provider of property and casualty coverage and became a publicly traded holding company following its initial public offering in 1999. Since its formation, Selective has expanded through strategic acquisitions and organic growth initiatives to broaden its product offerings and strengthen its market position.

The company’s core business encompasses a broad range of property and casualty insurance products designed to serve both commercial and personal lines customers.