Safety Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SAFT) Hits New 1-Year Low - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Safety Insurance Group's stock reached a new 52-week low at $68.49, with analysts rating it as a "hold" following recent downgrades.
• The company reported a missed earnings estimate with $1.45 per share against the expected $1.60, coupled with a revenue of $345.83 million for the last quarter.
• A quarterly dividend was recently increased to $0.92 per share, reflecting a continuation of dividends amid a 5.3% yield.

Shares of Safety Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAFT - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $68.49 and last traded at $68.66, with a volume of 9083 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $69.20.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Safety Insurance Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Safety Insurance Group in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold".

Safety Insurance Group Stock Down 0.1%

The company's 50 day moving average price is $72.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $75.64. The firm has a market cap of $1.03 billion, a PE ratio of 12.11 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Safety Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SAFT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The insurance provider reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.60 by ($0.15). Safety Insurance Group had a net margin of 7.07% and a return on equity of 8.34%. 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 was paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.92 per share. This is a positive change from Safety Insurance Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.3%. Safety Insurance Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 64.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Safety Insurance Group

In other news, Director Dennis J. Langwell bought 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $72.39 per share, for a total transaction of $144,780.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 8,000 shares in the company, valued at $579,120. This represents a 33.33% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 4,055 shares of company stock worth $291,705. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Safety Insurance Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SAFT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Safety Insurance Group by 67.9% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 310,072 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $24,617,000 after acquiring an additional 125,398 shares during the last quarter. CW Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Safety Insurance Group in the 1st quarter valued at $7,230,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its holdings in Safety Insurance Group by 41.8% in the 1st quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 217,000 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $17,117,000 after acquiring an additional 64,000 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in Safety Insurance Group by 284.9% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 85,761 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $6,765,000 after acquiring an additional 63,480 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Safety Insurance Group in the 1st quarter valued at $2,931,000. 81.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

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