Morgan Stanley Cuts Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) Price Target to $87.00

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) had its price objective lowered by Morgan Stanley from $95.00 to $87.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on SIGI. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Selective Insurance Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $95.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Selective Insurance Group from $96.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Selective Insurance Group from $96.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Selective Insurance Group from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $102.00.

Selective Insurance Group Price Performance

SIGI stock opened at $85.58 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.34. Selective Insurance Group has a 1 year low of $80.84 and a 1 year high of $109.58. The firm has a market cap of $5.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.58 and a beta of 0.61. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $93.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $92.61.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by ($0.37). Selective Insurance Group had a net margin of 4.26% and a return on equity of 7.33%. On average, equities analysts predict that Selective Insurance Group will post 7.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Selective Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Selective Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.21%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Selective Insurance Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 37.1% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 429 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its holdings in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 957.1% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 444 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $44,000. Institutional investors own 82.88% 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 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.