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

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Pullen Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Selective Insurance Group by 51.6% during the fourth quarter. Pullen Investment Management LLC now owns 12,736 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,191,000 after purchasing an additional 4,334 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 21.2% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 16,665 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,559,000 after buying an additional 2,914 shares during the last quarter. US Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $213,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 202,460 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $18,934,000 after acquiring an additional 22,712 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC grew its position in Selective Insurance Group by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 272,243 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $25,460,000 after acquiring an additional 34,100 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on SIGI. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on 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, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $93.00 target price (down previously from $116.00) on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.71.

Selective Insurance Group Price Performance

SIGI stock traded down $0.50 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $85.25. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 174,602 shares, compared to its average volume of 353,876. The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The company’s 50 day moving average is $88.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $92.09. Selective Insurance Group has a fifty-two week low of $78.13 and a fifty-two week high of $109.58. The stock has a market cap of $5.18 billion, a PE ratio of 26.47 and a beta of 0.54.

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

Selective Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

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