Selective Insurance price target raised to $100 from $93 at BofA

BofA analyst Grace Carter raised the firm’s price target on Selective Insurance to $100 from $93 and keeps an Underperform rating on the shares. Selective pre-announced Q2 operating EPS of 99c, which was a miss compared to the firm’s prior forecast of $1.13 and consensus of $1.39 due to higher catastrophe losses and lower reserve releases. However, the company reiterated its guide for a FY23 combined ratio of 96.5% and similar misses from peers should mitigate the “downside surprise,” the analyst tells investors. Despite the Q2 miss, the firm’s FY22-24 EPS estimates are now higher based on faster commercial margin expansion and higher investment income.