Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) Shares Gap Down on Disappointing Earnings

Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Thursday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $94.02, but opened at $88.56. Selective Insurance Group shares last traded at $85.47, with a volume of 158,314 shares changing hands.

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 return on equity of 8.11% and a net margin of 5.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on SIGI shares. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a research report on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $96.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $105.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $96.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $104.57.

Institutional Trading of Selective Insurance Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 28.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,468,801 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $510,239,000 after purchasing an additional 1,216,801 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Selective Insurance Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,726,000. Eagle Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 112.7% in the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 427,180 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $42,667,000 after purchasing an additional 226,387 shares during the last quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Selective Insurance Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $11,767,000. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 15.4% in the 4th quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 828,327 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $77,465,000 after purchasing an additional 110,381 shares during the last quarter. 82.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Selective Insurance Group Price Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $94.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $92.98. The company has a market cap of $4.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.14 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.35.

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.