Safety Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SAFT) Reaches New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Safety Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAFT)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $103.57 and last traded at $103.39, with a volume of 374230 shares. The stock had previously closed at $103.19.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Safety Insurance Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 6th. Zacks Research upgraded Safety Insurance Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Safety Insurance Group from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold”.

Safety Insurance Group Trading Up 0.2%

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 business’s 50 day moving average is $76.52 and its 200-day moving average is $75.70. The firm has a market cap of $1.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.44 and a beta of 0.21.

Safety Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SAFT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The insurance provider reported ($0.72) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.45 by ($2.17). The company 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%. As a group, analysts forecast 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st were paid a $0.92 dividend. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. Safety Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is 87.00%.

Insider Activity at Safety Insurance Group

In related news, major shareholder Corp Srb sold 1,240,352 shares of Safety Insurance Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.07, for a total value of $127,843,080.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 473,387 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,791,998.09. This trade represents a 72.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 1,316,109 shares of company stock worth $134,654,987 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of Safety Insurance Group by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 10,148 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $801,000 after acquiring an additional 914 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Safety Insurance Group by 19.7% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 34,093 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,689,000 after purchasing an additional 5,619 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in Safety Insurance Group by 4.7% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 8,734 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $689,000 after purchasing an additional 389 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in Safety Insurance Group by 284.9% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 85,761 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $6,765,000 after purchasing an additional 63,480 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in shares of Safety Insurance Group by 9.8% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 33,747 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,662,000 after purchasing an additional 3,011 shares during the period. 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.