Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) to Issue Dividend Increase – $0.43 Per Share

Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) declared a quarterly dividend on Saturday, October 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be given a dividend of 0.43 per share by the insurance provider on Monday, December 1st. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 14th. This is a 13.2% increase from Selective Insurance Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38.

Selective Insurance Group has raised its dividend by an average of 0.1%annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 11 years. Selective Insurance Group has a dividend payout ratio of 20.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Selective Insurance Group to earn $8.40 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.72 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 20.5%.

Selective Insurance Group Price Performance

SIGI traded down $0.03 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $79.00. 54,194 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 479,073. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $79.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $82.64. Selective Insurance Group has a 12-month low of $71.75 and a 12-month high of $103.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.32. The company has a market cap of $4.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.18 and a beta of 0.39.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The insurance provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.04. Selective Insurance Group had a net margin of 7.78% and a return on equity of 12.96%. The company had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.40 earnings per share. Selective Insurance Group’s revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Selective Insurance Group will post 7.62 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on SIGI shares. Zacks Research raised shares of Selective Insurance Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. BMO Capital Markets lowered Selective Insurance Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $81.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $84.00 to $82.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Selective Insurance Group from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Selective Insurance Group currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $78.75.

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.