Short Interest in Safety Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAFT) Drops By 39.5%

Safety Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAFT) was the target of a large drop in short interest during 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. Currently, 0.6% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 55,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.4 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Safety Insurance Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th.

Safety Insurance Group Trading Down 0.1 %

SAFT stock traded down $0.09 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $76.39. 19,201 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 46,856. Safety Insurance Group has a twelve month low of $73.38 and a twelve month high of $90.00. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $79.12 and its 200 day moving average is $81.78. The firm has a market cap of $1.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.12 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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.17 by ($0.23). Safety Insurance Group had a net margin of 6.86% and a return on equity of 6.35%. The business had revenue of $286.72 million during the quarter.

Safety Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.71%. Safety Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 75.47%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Safety Insurance Group

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in Safety Insurance Group by 94.9% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 308 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Safety Insurance Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its position in Safety Insurance Group by 823.5% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 471 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 420 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Safety Insurance Group by 52.2% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,000 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 343 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Safety Insurance Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $181,000. 81.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.