Safety Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SAFT) Sets New 52-Week High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Safety Insurance Group shares reached a new 52-week high of $104.15, giving the company a market capitalization of approximately $1.53 billion. Analysts’ consensus rating is “Moderate Buy,” while Weiss Ratings upgraded its rating to “buy (b).”
• The insurer slightly beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $2.03 in EPS versus a $2.00 estimate, on revenue of $325.68 million. Analysts forecast full-year EPS of $4.15.
• Safety offers a notable income component with a quarterly dividend of $0.92, or $3.68 annually and a 3.5% yield. However, a major shareholder recently sold 1.24 million shares, reducing its position by 72.38%.

Safety Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAFT - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high on Monday. The company traded as high as $104.15 and last traded at $104.0260, with a volume of 57,203 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $104.03.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Weiss Ratings raised Safety Insurance Group from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Safety Insurance Group currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

Safety Insurance Group Stock Down 0.0%

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.28 and a beta of 0.15. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $103.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $86.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Safety Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SAFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 7.23% and a net margin of 5.33%. The firm had revenue of $325.68 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $325.68 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Safety Insurance Group, Inc. will post 4.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Safety Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st were issued a $0.92 dividend. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 1st. Safety Insurance Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 79.31%.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Corp Srb sold 1,240,352 shares of the company's 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 sale, the insider directly owned 473,387 shares of the company's stock, valued at $48,791,998.09. This represents a 72.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Safety Insurance Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Safety Insurance Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $171,385,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Safety Insurance Group by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 711,806 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $51,708,000 after acquiring an additional 3,319 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Safety Insurance Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $10,513,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in Safety Insurance Group by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 140,400 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $10,199,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Safety Insurance Group by 2.0% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 72,384 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $5,258,000 after purchasing an additional 1,406 shares in the last quarter. 81.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Safety Insurance Group

Safety Insurance Group, Inc NASDAQ: SAFT is an insurance holding company headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. Through its subsidiaries, including Safety Insurance Company, the company provides property and casualty insurance products to individuals and businesses.

Its principal offerings include private passenger and commercial automobile insurance, homeowners insurance, businessowners policies, dwelling fire coverage, umbrella insurance and workers' compensation insurance. Safety distributes its products primarily through a network of independent insurance agents and provides related policy administration and claims services.

The company primarily serves customers in New England, with operations focused on Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine.

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