Oppenheimer Initiates Coverage on Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI)

Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) in a report released on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage set an “outperform” rating and a $120.00 price target on the insurance provider’s stock. Oppenheimer’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 19.39% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $105.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 3rd. StockNews.com started coverage on Selective Insurance Group in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Selective Insurance Group from $112.00 to $106.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 6th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $93.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Selective Insurance Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $105.14.

Selective Insurance Group Stock Performance

Shares of SIGI stock opened at $100.51 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a market cap of $6.09 billion, a PE ratio of 19.33, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.61. Selective Insurance Group has a 12-month low of $84.47 and a 12-month high of $108.18. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $103.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $100.86.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 1st. The insurance provider reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.66 by ($0.15). The business had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. Selective Insurance Group had a net margin of 7.97% and a return on equity of 13.86%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.99 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Selective Insurance Group will post 5.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Selective Insurance Group

In related news, CEO John J. Marchioni sold 2,976 shares of Selective Insurance Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.94, for a total value of $297,421.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 141,460 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,137,512.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Selective Insurance Group news, Director Cynthia S. Nicholson sold 3,020 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.51, for a total transaction of $306,560.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,746 shares in the company, valued at $1,699,886.46. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John J. Marchioni sold 2,976 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.94, for a total transaction of $297,421.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 141,460 shares in the company, valued at $14,137,512.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 26,902 shares of company stock worth $2,736,603. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SIGI. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 186.5% in the third quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 255 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Selective Insurance Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Spire Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 576.9% during the 1st quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 704 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 37.3% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 747 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in Selective Insurance Group by 12.3% during the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,169 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $121,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.66% of the company’s stock.

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 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; 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; and flood insurance products.