Optimize Financial Inc Invests $337,000 in Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI)

Optimize Financial Inc acquired a new stake in Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 3,604 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $337,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 3,984 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $376,000 after purchasing an additional 307 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its stake in Selective Insurance Group by 5.4% in the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 10,729 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,001,000 after buying an additional 554 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Selective Insurance Group by 171.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 114,790 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $10,711,000 after buying an additional 72,530 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Selective Insurance Group by 1.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,586,527 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $148,048,000 after acquiring an additional 26,880 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co acquired a new position in Selective Insurance Group during the third quarter worth about $345,000. 82.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on SIGI. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $93.00 price target (down from $116.00) on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $95.00 to $87.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Selective Insurance Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $95.17.

Selective Insurance Group Price Performance

SIGI stock opened at $86.63 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.90 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $85.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $91.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 0.34. Selective Insurance Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $78.13 and a 52-week high of $104.67.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.99 by ($0.37). Selective Insurance Group had a return on equity of 7.33% and a net margin of 4.26%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Selective Insurance Group, Inc. will post 7.62 EPS for the current year.

Selective Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Selective Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.20%.

Selective Insurance Group Company Profile

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.