Safety Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SAFT) Hits New 1-Year High - What's Next?

Key Points

• Safety Insurance Group shares reached a new 52-week high, trading as high as $103.88 and giving the company a market capitalization of approximately $1.52 billion.
• Analyst sentiment improved, with recent upgrades from Weiss Ratings, Wall Street Zen, and Zacks Research; the stock now has an overall “Moderate Buy” rating.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of $2.03, slightly ahead of estimates, and maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.92, equivalent to a 3.5% annualized yield. However, insiders recently sold more than 1.3 million shares, including a major shareholder’s 72% position reduction.

Safety Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAFT - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $103.88 and last traded at $103.8340, with a volume of 16058 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $103.51.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SAFT. Weiss Ratings raised Safety Insurance Group from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Safety Insurance Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 6th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Safety Insurance Group to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Safety Insurance Group presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

Safety Insurance Group Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $98.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $82.02. The firm has a market cap of $1.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.37 and a beta of 0.16.

Safety Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SAFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The insurance provider reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.00 by $0.03. Safety Insurance Group had a net margin of 5.33% and a return on equity of 7.23%. The firm had revenue of $325.68 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $325.68 million. On average, analysts expect that Safety Insurance Group, Inc. will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Safety Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st were given a $0.92 dividend. The ex-dividend date was 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 (DPR) 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 business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.07, for a total transaction of $127,843,080.64. Following the transaction, the insider owned 473,387 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,791,998.09. The trade was a 72.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,316,109 shares of company stock valued at $134,654,987. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Safety Insurance Group

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SAFT. Engineers Gate Manager LP grew its holdings in Safety Insurance Group by 148.0% during the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 11,283 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $845,000 after acquiring an additional 6,733 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Safety Insurance Group in the second quarter valued at $118,000. Corient Private Wealth LP acquired a new stake in Safety Insurance Group in the second quarter valued at $211,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Safety Insurance Group by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC now owns 7,086 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $530,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Archer Investment Corp acquired a new position in shares of Safety Insurance Group during the 2nd quarter worth $487,000. 81.04% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Safety Insurance Group Company Profile

Safety Insurance Group, Inc is a property and casualty insurance holding company headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. Through its insurance subsidiaries, the company provides personal and commercial insurance products primarily through a network of independent agents.

Its personal insurance offerings include private-passenger automobile, homeowners, dwelling fire, and umbrella coverage. Safety also provides commercial automobile, business owners, commercial property, and workers' compensation insurance for businesses and other organizations.

Founded in 1979, Safety Insurance Group primarily serves customers in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine.

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