Safety Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SAFT) Reaches New 12-Month High on Earnings Beat

Key Points

• Safety Insurance Group shares reached a new 52-week high, trading as high as $103.63 after the company reported quarterly EPS of $2.03, beating the $2.00 analyst consensus, while revenue of $325.68 million also exceeded estimates.
• Analysts maintained a generally cautious outlook, with the company receiving an average “Hold” rating after several research firms upgraded their assessments to hold.
• Institutional investors own 81.04% of the stock, but insiders have recently sold more than 1.3 million shares worth approximately $134.7 million, including a major shareholder’s sale of 1.24 million shares.

Safety Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAFT - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock traded as high as $103.63 and last traded at $103.50, with a volume of 196696 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $103.26.

The insurance provider reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.00 by $0.03. Safety Insurance Group had a net margin of 4.94% and a return on equity of 6.31%. The company had revenue of $325.68 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $322.90 million.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Safety Insurance Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 6th. Weiss Ratings raised Safety Insurance Group from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Safety Insurance Group to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold".

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Safety Insurance Group news, major shareholder Corp Srb sold 1,240,352 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $48,791,998.09. This trade represents a 72.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 1,316,109 shares of company stock worth $134,654,987 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Safety Insurance Group

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SAFT. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Safety Insurance Group by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 24,877 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,807,000 after purchasing an additional 1,356 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its position in Safety Insurance Group by 16.8% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 19,525 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,418,000 after purchasing an additional 2,813 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in Safety Insurance Group by 0.3% in the first 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 during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in Safety Insurance Group by 44.8% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 67,915 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $4,933,000 after purchasing an additional 21,018 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in Safety Insurance Group by 23.9% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 3,189 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $232,000 after purchasing an additional 615 shares in the last quarter. 81.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Safety Insurance Group Stock Up 0.2%

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $76.28. The company has a market capitalization of $1.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.47 and a beta of 0.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.39.

Safety Insurance Group Company Profile

Safety Insurance Group, Inc is a publicly traded property and casualty insurance holding company incorporated in Massachusetts in 1994. Its principal subsidiary, Safety Insurance Company, traces its roots back to 1923 and has since evolved into a regional personal lines insurer. The company is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, and trades on the Nasdaq under the symbol SAFT.

Safety Insurance Group focuses primarily on private passenger automobile and homeowners insurance products, along with dwelling fire, umbrella liability, and certain commercial auto coverages.

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