Ausbil Investment Management Ltd Makes New $401,000 Investment in Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI)

Ausbil Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 4,301 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $401,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new position in shares of Selective Insurance Group in the 1st quarter valued at $55,468,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 5.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,574,472 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $717,735,000 after purchasing an additional 367,987 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 27.5% in the first quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 578,501 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $63,155,000 after purchasing an additional 124,860 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 233.6% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 106,239 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $9,968,000 after purchasing an additional 74,390 shares during the period. Finally, Comerica Bank increased its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 240.6% in the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 95,476 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $10,423,000 after buying an additional 67,445 shares during the period. 82.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Selective Insurance Group Price Performance

SIGI stock traded down $0.35 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $94.96. 39,193 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 351,765. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.32. Selective Insurance Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $81.00 and a 12-month high of $109.58. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $91.71 and its 200 day moving average is $93.69. The company has a market cap of $5.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.56.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by ($0.29). Selective Insurance Group had a net margin of 5.01% and a return on equity of 8.11%. The business had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.51 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Selective Insurance Group, Inc. will post 3.76 EPS for the current year.

Selective Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.38 dividend. This is a positive change from Selective Insurance Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. Selective Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.74%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on SIGI shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Selective Insurance Group from $104.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 22nd. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Selective Insurance Group from $96.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on Selective Insurance Group from $96.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Selective Insurance Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $100.00.

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.