Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) Reaches New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday. The company traded as high as $101.48 and last traded at $100.76, with a volume of 629,806 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $98.83.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SIGI has been the subject of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings raised Selective Insurance Group from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 27th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Selective Insurance Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Selective Insurance Group from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Selective Insurance Group from $101.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Selective Insurance Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $101.83.

Selective Insurance Group Trading Up 2.0%

The firm has a market cap of $5.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.11 and a beta of 0.26. The company’s 50 day moving average is $89.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $87.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.29.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The insurance provider reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.91 by $0.46. Selective Insurance Group had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 9.40%. The firm had revenue of $1.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.85 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Selective Insurance Group, Inc. will post 8.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Selective Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. This is a boost from Selective Insurance Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 16th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Selective Insurance Group’s payout ratio is presently 23.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Selective Insurance Group

In related news, Director Cynthia Nicholson sold 3,691 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.71, for a total value of $364,338.61. Following the sale, the director owned 17,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,723,772.73. The trade was a 17.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Selective Insurance Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group during the second quarter worth approximately $754,557,000. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 33.3% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,381,867 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $104,179,000 after acquiring an additional 345,348 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Selective Insurance Group by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,359,224 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $102,473,000 after acquiring an additional 44,532 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in Selective Insurance Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $77,149,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Selective Insurance Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $63,423,000. 82.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Selective Insurance Group

Selective Insurance Group, Inc is a holding company for a group of property and casualty insurance subsidiaries. Founded in 1926 and headquartered in Branchville, New Jersey, the company provides insurance products and related services primarily through a network of independent agents.

Selective serves commercial, personal and public-sector customers. Its commercial offerings include business owners policies, commercial automobile, workers’ compensation, general liability, commercial property and other specialty coverages.