Safety Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAFT) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Safety Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAFT) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 79,900 shares, a drop of 39.5% from the January 31st total of 132,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 55,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.4 days. Currently, 0.6% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Safety Insurance Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SAFT traded up $0.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $76.14. The company had a trading volume of 73,980 shares, compared to its average volume of 47,187. Safety Insurance Group has a twelve month low of $73.38 and a twelve month high of $90.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $79.22 and its 200-day moving average is $81.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.13 billion, a PE ratio of 15.08 and a beta of 0.20.

Safety Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SAFT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The insurance provider reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by ($0.23). The firm had revenue of $286.72 million for the quarter. Safety Insurance Group had a return on equity of 6.35% and a net margin of 6.86%.

Safety Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Safety Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 75.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of Safety Insurance Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday.

Institutional Trading of Safety Insurance Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SAFT. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its holdings in Safety Insurance Group by 57.4% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 26,641 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,179,000 after purchasing an additional 9,713 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Safety Insurance Group by 0.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 355,390 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $29,070,000 after buying an additional 2,435 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Safety Insurance Group by 348.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 24,430 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,997,000 after acquiring an additional 18,987 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Safety Insurance Group by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 174,859 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $14,300,000 after acquiring an additional 9,531 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Safety Insurance Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $723,000. 81.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Safety Insurance Group Company Profile

Safety Insurance Group, Inc provides private passenger and commercial automobile, and homeowner insurance in the United States. The company’s private passenger automobile policies offer coverage for bodily injury and property damage to others, no-fault personal injury coverage for the insured/insured’s car occupants, and physical damage coverage for an insured’s own vehicle for collision or other perils.