Short Interest in Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) Drops By 16.3%

Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) saw a large decrease in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,180,000 shares, a decrease of 16.3% from the January 31st total of 1,410,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 390,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.0 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on SIGI. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $93.00 price target (down previously from $116.00) on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $95.00 to $87.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.71.

Selective Insurance Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ SIGI traded down $0.50 on Wednesday, hitting $85.25. 174,602 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 353,876. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $88.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $92.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.18 billion, a PE ratio of 26.47 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. Selective Insurance Group has a 1-year low of $78.13 and a 1-year high of $109.58.

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%. As a group, analysts expect that Selective Insurance Group will post 7.62 EPS for the current year.

Selective Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Selective Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.20%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Selective Insurance Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Selective Insurance Group during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 37.1% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 429 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 957.1% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 444 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 64.4% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 485 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. 82.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.