Safety Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SAFT) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.23 EPS

Safety Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SAFT) issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The insurance provider reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.23, FiscalAI reports. Safety Insurance Group had a net margin of 7.09% and a return on equity of 8.85%.

Safety Insurance Group Stock Up 1.3%

NASDAQ SAFT traded up $1.02 on Wednesday, hitting $78.46. 61,248 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 74,555. The company has a current ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $77.80 and a 200 day moving average of $74.72. Safety Insurance Group has a twelve month low of $67.04 and a twelve month high of $84.20. The company has a market capitalization of $1.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.32 and a beta of 0.22.

Safety Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.92 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.7%. Safety Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.48%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Safety Insurance Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SAFT. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its stake in Safety Insurance Group by 36.3% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 9,559 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $745,000 after purchasing an additional 2,546 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd boosted its holdings 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 during the period. Engineers Gate Manager LP grew its position in shares of Safety Insurance Group by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 9,004 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $702,000 after buying an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Safety Insurance Group by 62.6% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 304,724 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $23,741,000 after buying an additional 117,261 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dean Investment Associates LLC raised its stake in Safety Insurance Group by 531.9% during the fourth quarter. Dean Investment Associates LLC now owns 48,900 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,810,000 after acquiring an additional 41,161 shares during the period. 81.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Safety Insurance Group in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, Safety Insurance Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

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.