Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) to Issue $0.43 Quarterly Dividend

Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be given a dividend of 0.43 per share by the insurance provider on Monday, March 2nd. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th.

Selective Insurance Group has increased its dividend payment by an average of 0.1%per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 11 consecutive years. Selective Insurance Group has a dividend payout ratio of 20.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Selective Insurance Group to earn $8.40 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.72 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 20.5%.

Selective Insurance Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SIGI traded down $2.12 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $81.96. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 314,539 shares, compared to its average volume of 500,444. Selective Insurance Group has a one year low of $71.75 and a one year high of $93.38. The company has a market cap of $4.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.63 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $81.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $80.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.36 billion. Selective Insurance Group had a return on equity of 12.96% and a net margin of 7.78%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.62 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Selective Insurance Group will post 7.62 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Selective Insurance Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. M&T Bank Corp grew its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 24.4% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 4,341 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $363,000 after purchasing an additional 852 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank grew its stake in Selective Insurance Group by 94.8% in the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 55,955 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,682,000 after buying an additional 27,236 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $244,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its position in Selective Insurance Group by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 8,370 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $700,000 after buying an additional 642 shares during the period. Finally, UBS Group AG increased its position in Selective Insurance Group by 46.1% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 237,076 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $19,836,000 after acquiring an additional 74,757 shares during the period. 82.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.