Safety Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SAFT) Shares Cross Above 200-Day Moving Average - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Safety Insurance Group shares crossed above their 200-day moving average, trading near $103.55 versus the $81.65 average, signaling strong recent price momentum.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but leans positive: the stock has a “Moderate Buy” consensus, with one Buy and one Hold rating after recent rating changes.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of $2.03, slightly exceeding estimates, and pays a quarterly dividend of $0.92, representing a 3.6% annualized yield. However, insiders sold more than $134 million in shares over the past 90 days.

Safety Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAFT - Get Free Report) shares passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $81.65 and traded as high as $103.67. Safety Insurance Group shares last traded at $103.55, with a volume of 93,076 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SAFT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Safety Insurance Group from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Zacks Research raised Safety Insurance Group to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Safety Insurance Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

Safety Insurance Group Trading Up 0.0%

The company has a market cap of $1.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.32 and a beta of 0.16. 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 business's fifty day simple moving average is $96.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $81.65.

Safety Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SAFT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The insurance provider reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $325.68 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $325.68 million. On average, equities analysts predict that Safety Insurance Group, Inc. will post 4.75 EPS for the current year.

Safety Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st were paid a $0.92 dividend. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. 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 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 transaction of $127,843,080.64. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders sold a total of 1,316,109 shares of company stock worth $134,654,987 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Safety Insurance Group

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Safety Insurance Group during the second quarter worth approximately $171,385,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Safety Insurance Group by 0.5% in the first 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 purchased a new position in shares of Safety Insurance Group during the second quarter worth approximately $10,513,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in shares of Safety Insurance Group by 0.3% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 140,400 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $10,199,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position 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 worth $5,258,000 after acquiring an additional 1,406 shares during the last quarter. 81.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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