Safety Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SAFT) Sets New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

Safety Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAFT) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $103.75 and last traded at $103.7350, with a volume of 68404 shares. The stock had previously closed at $103.59.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on SAFT. Wall Street Zen upgraded Safety Insurance Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Safety Insurance Group from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Safety Insurance Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Safety Insurance Group Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.41 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The company has a market cap of $1.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.36 and a beta of 0.17. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $86.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $78.55.

Safety Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SAFT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The insurance provider reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.00 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $325.68 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $325.68 million. Safety Insurance Group had a return on equity of 7.23% and a net margin of 5.33%. As a group, analysts predict that Safety Insurance Group, Inc. will post 4.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Safety Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be given a $0.92 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. Safety Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 79.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Safety Insurance Group news, major shareholder Corp Srb sold 1,240,352 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.07, for a total transaction of $127,843,080.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 473,387 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,791,998.09. This trade represents a 72.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 1,316,109 shares of company stock worth $134,654,987 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Safety Insurance Group

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. XTX Topco Ltd grew its stake in shares of Safety Insurance Group by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 4,745 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $370,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Safety Insurance Group by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 23,753 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,851,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Safety Insurance Group by 62.5% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 416 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in Safety Insurance Group by 74.8% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 388 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its position in Safety Insurance Group by 1.2% during the second quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 14,018 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,112,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.04% of the company’s stock.

Safety Insurance Group Company Profile

Safety Insurance Group, Inc is a publicly traded property and casualty insurance holding company incorporated in Massachusetts in 1994. Its principal subsidiary, Safety Insurance Company, traces its roots back to 1923 and has since evolved into a regional personal lines insurer. The company is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, and trades on the Nasdaq under the symbol SAFT.

Safety Insurance Group focuses primarily on private passenger automobile and homeowners insurance products, along with dwelling fire, umbrella liability, and certain commercial auto coverages.