Safety Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAFT) Short Interest Up 28.8% in August

Key Points

• Safety Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAFT) experienced a 28.8% increase in short interest in August, reaching 149,100 shares.
• Wall Street analysts downgraded Safety Insurance Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating on August 9th.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.92, up from the previous $0.90, representing a 5.0% yield.

Safety Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAFT - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totaling 149,100 shares, a growth of 28.8% from the July 31st total of 115,800 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 83,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.8 days. Currently, 1.0% of the company's stock are short sold. Currently, 1.0% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 83,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.8 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Safety Insurance Group news, Director Dennis J. Langwell purchased 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $72.39 per share, with a total value of $144,780.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 8,000 shares in the company, valued at $579,120. This trade represents a 33.33% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Safety Insurance Group

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its holdings in shares of Safety Insurance Group by 15,950.0% in the second quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 321 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Safety Insurance Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Safety Insurance Group by 169.9% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 448 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Safety Insurance Group by 1,317.1% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 496 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 461 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Safety Insurance Group by 67.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 811 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 328 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.04% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wall Street Zen lowered Safety Insurance Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th.

Safety Insurance Group Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of Safety Insurance Group stock traded down $1.02 during trading on Friday, reaching $73.94. The company's stock had a trading volume of 47,224 shares, compared to its average volume of 91,953. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a market cap of $1.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.95 and a beta of 0.28. Safety Insurance Group has a 1-year low of $68.76 and a 1-year high of $90.00. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $72.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $76.39.

Safety Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SAFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The insurance provider reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.60 by ($0.15). Safety Insurance Group had a return on equity of 8.34% and a net margin of 7.07%.The firm had revenue of $345.83 million for the quarter.

Safety Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.92 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. This is an increase from Safety Insurance Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.0%. Safety Insurance Group's payout ratio is currently 64.45%.

About Safety Insurance Group

Safety Insurance Group, Inc provides private passenger and commercial automobile, and homeowner insurance in the United States. The company's private passenger automobile policies offer coverage for bodily injury and property damage to others, no-fault personal injury coverage for the insured/insured's car occupants, and physical damage coverage for an insured's own vehicle for collision or other perils.