Safety Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SAFT) Stock Price Breaks Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Safety Insurance Group shares rose above their 200-day moving average, reaching $104.00 and last trading near $103.94, compared with the average of $85.02.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive: Weiss Ratings upgraded the stock to “buy (b),” while the two tracked analysts collectively assign a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating.
• The company exceeded quarterly earnings expectations with $2.03 in EPS versus $2.00 forecast and maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.92 per share, representing a 3.5% yield; however, insiders sold more than 1.3 million shares over the past 90 days.

Shares of Safety Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAFT - Get Free Report) passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Thursday. The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $85.02 and traded as high as $104.00. Safety Insurance Group shares last traded at $103.94, with a volume of 112,695 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Weiss Ratings upgraded Safety Insurance Group from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Safety Insurance Group presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

Safety Insurance Group Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.41. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $103.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $85.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.40 and a beta of 0.15.

Safety Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SAFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The insurance provider reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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. Sell-side 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st were given a dividend of $0.92 per share. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 1st. Safety Insurance Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 79.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Safety Insurance Group

In other Safety Insurance Group 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 473,387 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,791,998.09. This trade represents a 72.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,313,459 shares of company stock worth $134,452,235. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Safety Insurance Group

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SAFT. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Safety Insurance Group by 2.6% in the second quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC now owns 7,086 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $530,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares during the period. Bayban acquired a new stake in shares of Safety Insurance Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of Safety Insurance Group by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 140,400 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $10,199,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Safety Insurance Group by 21.5% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,622 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new position in Safety Insurance Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.04% of the company's stock.

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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