Safety Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SAFT) Cut to "Hold" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Safety Insurance Group has been downgraded from a "buy" to a "hold" rating by Wall Street Zen, indicating a cautious outlook on the stock.
• The company reported a quarterly EPS of $1.45, missing the consensus estimate of $1.60, with revenue of $345.83 million and a net margin of 7.07%.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds control approximately 81.04% of Safety Insurance Group's stock, with several firms recently adjusting their holdings.

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Safety Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SAFT - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday morning.

Safety Insurance Group Trading Down 0.4%

NASDAQ:SAFT traded down $0.25 on Friday, reaching $70.95. The company's stock had a trading volume of 77,994 shares, compared to its average volume of 77,497. Safety Insurance Group has a 1-year low of $68.76 and a 1-year high of $90.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.42. The firm has a market cap of $1.06 billion, a PE ratio of 12.43 and a beta of 0.26. The business's 50-day moving average price is $75.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $77.20.

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

Safety Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.92 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.2%. This is an increase from Safety Insurance Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. Safety Insurance Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 63.05%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Safety Insurance Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Safety Insurance Group by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 25,851 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,129,000 after buying an additional 1,421 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Safety Insurance Group by 67.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 811 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 328 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Safety Insurance Group by 52.2% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 18,137 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,431,000 after purchasing an additional 6,223 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Safety Insurance Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $430,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Safety Insurance Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $927,000. Institutional investors own 81.04% of the company's stock.

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.