UPDATE: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Upgrades Selective Insurance on Valuation Call

In a report published Friday, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods analyst Vincent DeAugustino upgraded the rating on

from Market Perform to Outperform, and reiterated the $26.00 price target. In the report, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods noted, “We're upgrading the shares of Selective to Outperform from Market Perform, while we're maintaining our EPS estimates and $26 target price. Our upgrade is quite simply a valuation call: Selective's shares are down 17% YTD compared to 5% for the KBW P&C insurance coverage universe and flat S&P 500 performance, with an even worse comparison relative to Selective's late-November highs. In our view, the underperformance has gone past what's reasonable based on decelerating pricing trends.” Selective Insurance closed on Thursday at $22.44.