Insider Buying: Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) EVP Buys 1,402 Shares of Stock

Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) EVP Joseph Eppers bought 1,402 shares of Selective Insurance Group stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $76.82 per share, with a total value of $107,701.64. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president directly owned 12,492 shares in the company, valued at $959,635.44. This trade represents a 12.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Selective Insurance Group Trading Up 3.5%

Shares of Selective Insurance Group stock opened at $77.63 on Monday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $86.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $87.25. The firm has a market cap of $4.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.71 and a beta of 0.48. Selective Insurance Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $71.75 and a fifty-two week high of $103.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by ($0.24). The business had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.32 billion. Selective Insurance Group had a net margin of 7.50% and a return on equity of 12.61%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($1.10) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Selective Insurance Group, Inc. will post 7.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Selective Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.96%. Selective Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.88%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SIGI. Olde Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Selective Insurance Group in the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in Selective Insurance Group by 219.5% in the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 361 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Amundi raised its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 398.7% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 389 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 311 shares during the period. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Selective Insurance Group during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in Selective Insurance Group during the first quarter valued at about $38,000. Institutional investors own 82.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on SIGI. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Selective Insurance Group from $93.00 to $92.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Selective Insurance Group from $88.00 to $79.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Selective Insurance Group from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $90.00 to $86.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Selective Insurance Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $92.33.

About Selective Insurance Group

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.