Safety Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SAFT) Reaches New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Safety Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAFT)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $103.88 and last traded at $103.8340, with a volume of 16058 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $103.51.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Safety Insurance Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday. Zacks Research raised Safety Insurance Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Safety Insurance Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Safety Insurance Group Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.52 billion, a PE ratio of 22.37 and a beta of 0.16. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $98.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $82.02.

Safety Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SAFT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The insurance provider reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.00 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $325.68 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $325.68 million. Safety Insurance Group had a net margin of 5.33% and a return on equity of 7.23%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Safety Insurance Group, Inc. will post 4.75 EPS for the current year.

Safety Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st were paid a $0.92 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. Safety Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 79.31%.

Insider Transactions at Safety Insurance Group

In other Safety Insurance Group news, major shareholder Corp Srb sold 1,240,352 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.07, for a total transaction of $127,843,080.64. Following the sale, the insider owned 473,387 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,791,998.09. This represents a 72.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,316,109 shares of company stock valued at $134,654,987. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Safety Insurance Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in Safety Insurance Group by 74.8% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 388 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Bayban purchased a new position in Safety Insurance Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new position in Safety Insurance Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Safety Insurance Group during the 4th quarter worth about $58,000. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Safety Insurance Group during the second quarter worth about $118,000. 81.04% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Safety Insurance Group Company Profile

Safety Insurance Group, Inc is a property and casualty insurance holding company headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. Through its insurance subsidiaries, the company provides personal and commercial insurance products primarily through a network of independent agents.

Its personal insurance offerings include private-passenger automobile, homeowners, dwelling fire, and umbrella coverage. Safety also provides commercial automobile, business owners, commercial property, and workers’ compensation insurance for businesses and other organizations.

Founded in 1979, Safety Insurance Group primarily serves customers in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine.