Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) Trading 7.9% Higher After Dividend Announcement

Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) shares rose 7.9% on Thursday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock traded as high as $84.31 and last traded at $83.7550. Approximately 129,848 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 558,872 shares. The stock had previously closed at $77.63.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Selective Insurance Group’s payout ratio is 22.96%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SIGI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 target price on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Selective Insurance Group from $79.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. One equities 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.60.

Selective Insurance Group Stock Up 8.0%

The company has a 50-day moving average of $79.81 and a 200-day moving average of $80.93. The company has a market capitalization of $5.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.19 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The insurance provider reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.81 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $1.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. Selective Insurance Group had a net margin of 8.74% and a return on equity of 14.23%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.76 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Selective Insurance Group, Inc. will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Selective Insurance Group

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AGF Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Selective Insurance Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,448,000. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group in the third quarter worth about $5,082,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 1,299.9% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 301,965 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $24,480,000 after buying an additional 280,395 shares during the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group in the third quarter worth about $1,480,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 381.2% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 28,347 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,372,000 after buying an additional 22,456 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.