Safety Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SAFT) Hits New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Safety Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAFT)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $103.00 and last traded at $103.00, with a volume of 38868 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $72.94.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on SAFT shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Safety Insurance Group in a report on Friday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Safety Insurance Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 6th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Safety Insurance Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Safety Insurance Group currently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Safety Insurance Group Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The company has a market cap of $1.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.37 and a beta of 0.21. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $72.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $74.55.

Safety Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SAFT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The insurance provider reported ($0.72) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.45 by ($2.17). The firm had revenue of $314.67 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $315.01 million. Safety Insurance Group had a net margin of 4.94% and a return on equity of 6.31%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Safety Insurance Group, Inc. will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Safety Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st were given a dividend of $0.92 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Safety Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 87.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Safety Insurance Group

In other Safety Insurance Group news, major shareholder Corp Srb sold 34,272 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.04, for a total value of $2,606,042.88. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 1,757,733 shares in the company, valued at approximately $133,658,017.32. This trade represents a 1.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Safety Insurance Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. XTX Topco Ltd grew its stake in shares of Safety Insurance Group by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 4,745 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $370,000 after buying an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Safety Insurance Group by 0.6% during 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 acquiring an additional 152 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in Safety Insurance Group by 62.5% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 416 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 166 shares during the period. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its position in shares of 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 valued at $1,112,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. 81.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Safety Insurance Group

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.