Safety Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SAFT) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $2.17 EPS

Key Points

• Safety Insurance Group missed expectations: the company reported EPS of ($0.72) vs. the $1.45 consensus, a shortfall of $2.17, while delivering a return on equity of 9.64% and a net margin of 7.85%.
• The firm pays a quarterly dividend of $0.92 (annualized $3.68), implying a 5.0% yield with a dividend payout ratio of 54.93%.
• Shares traded near $74.30 (market cap ~$1.09B, PE 11.09) and saw insider selling—major shareholder Corp Srb sold 14,151 shares, cutting its stake by 0.78%—while analysts maintain a consensus rating of "Hold."

Safety Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SAFT - Get Free Report) announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The insurance provider reported ($0.72) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.45 by ($2.17), FiscalAI reports. Safety Insurance Group had a return on equity of 9.64% and a net margin of 7.85%.

Safety Insurance Group Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of SAFT traded down $0.09 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $74.30. 83,212 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 84,638. Safety Insurance Group has a 52 week low of $67.04 and a 52 week high of $84.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.09 billion, a PE ratio of 11.09 and a beta of 0.24. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $74.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $75.52.

Safety Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were given a dividend of $0.92 per share. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 2nd. Safety Insurance Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SAFT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Safety Insurance Group in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Safety Insurance Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Safety Insurance Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold".

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Corp Srb sold 14,151 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.12, for a total transaction of $1,006,419.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,794,655 shares in the company, valued at $127,635,863.60. This trade represents a 0.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders sold 36,304 shares of company stock worth $2,728,283 in the last ninety days. 2.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Safety Insurance Group

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. XTX Topco Ltd raised its position in shares of Safety Insurance Group by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 4,745 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $370,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Safety Insurance Group by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 23,753 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,851,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Safety Insurance Group by 62.5% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 416 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its position in shares of Safety Insurance Group by 1.2% during the second quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 14,018 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,112,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Engineers Gate Manager LP raised its position in shares of Safety Insurance Group by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 9,004 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $702,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. 81.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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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