Safety Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SAFT) Hits New 1-Year Low - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Safety Insurance Group shares reached a new 52-week low of $68.26 during trading, reflecting a significant drop from a previous closing price of $70.00.
• Analyst ratings have been cautious, with Wall Street Zen downgrading the stock from a "buy" to a "hold" rating, resulting in an average rating of "hold" from investment analysts.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.92 per share, representing an annualized yield of 5.3%, with a payout ratio of 64.45%.

Safety Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAFT - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $68.26 and last traded at $68.56, with a volume of 8590 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $70.00.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on SAFT. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Safety Insurance Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Safety Insurance Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold".

Safety Insurance Group Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $72.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $75.38. The stock has a market cap of $1.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.05 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.42.

Safety Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SAFT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The insurance provider reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $345.83 million for the quarter.

Safety Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were paid a $0.92 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 yield of 5.3%. Safety Insurance Group's payout ratio is presently 64.45%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Safety Insurance Group news, Director Dennis J. Langwell bought 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $72.39 per share, with a total value of $144,780.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 8,000 shares in the company, valued at $579,120. The trade was a 33.33% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have bought a total of 4,055 shares of company stock valued at $291,705 over the last quarter. Insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Safety Insurance Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SAFT. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Safety Insurance Group by 67.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 811 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 328 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in shares of Safety Insurance Group during the first quarter valued at $927,000. Diversified Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Safety Insurance Group during the first quarter valued at $430,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Safety Insurance Group by 52.2% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 18,137 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,431,000 after acquiring an additional 6,223 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Safety Insurance Group by 2.7% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 73,878 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $5,827,000 after acquiring an additional 1,926 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.04% of the company's stock.

Safety Insurance Group Company Profile

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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