Hantz Financial Services Inc. Acquires New Position in Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI)

Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 2,724 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $256,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,628 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $560,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its holdings in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 27,092 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,695,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 32,436 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,227,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 81.5% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 323 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its holdings in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 3,126 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $311,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.88% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Selective Insurance Group

In related news, Director Terrence W. Cavanaugh bought 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $85.85 per share, with a total value of $171,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,772,888.35. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Selective Insurance Group news, CEO John J. Marchioni acquired 2,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $83.56 per share, with a total value of $200,544.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 136,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,397,333.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Terrence W. Cavanaugh bought 2,000 shares of Selective Insurance Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $85.85 per share, with a total value of $171,700.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 20,651 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,772,888.35. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on SIGI. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $98.00 to $97.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Selective Insurance Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $104.00 to $99.00 in a report on Monday, July 22nd. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $103.00 to $96.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.67.

Selective Insurance Group Price Performance

Selective Insurance Group stock opened at $90.98 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $5.53 billion, a PE ratio of 16.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.54. Selective Insurance Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $81.00 and a 52-week high of $109.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The company’s 50 day moving average is $90.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $96.77.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The insurance provider reported ($1.10) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($2.59). Selective Insurance Group had a net margin of 5.12% and a return on equity of 8.75%. The firm had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.21 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.99 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Selective Insurance Group, Inc. will post 3.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Selective Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. Selective Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.74%.

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.