Safety Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAFT) Short Interest Down 19.8% in December

Safety Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAFT) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 89,992 shares, a drop of 19.8% from the December 15th total of 112,156 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 82,289 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.1 days. Currently, 0.6% of the company’s stock are sold short. Currently, 0.6% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 82,289 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.1 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Safety Insurance Group

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Safety Insurance Group by 67.9% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 310,072 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $24,617,000 after purchasing an additional 125,398 shares during the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its position in shares of Safety Insurance Group by 10.0% in the 2nd quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 238,600 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $18,942,000 after buying an additional 21,600 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Safety Insurance Group by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 209,828 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $16,658,000 after buying an additional 1,172 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of Safety Insurance Group by 224.8% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 139,755 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $9,879,000 after buying an additional 96,728 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Safety Insurance Group by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 126,054 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $8,911,000 after buying an additional 373 shares during the last quarter. 81.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Safety Insurance Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Safety Insurance Group Stock Down 0.3%

NASDAQ SAFT traded down $0.24 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $75.78. 20,061 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 64,159. The company has a 50 day moving average of $76.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $73.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.13 billion, a PE ratio of 12.87 and a beta of 0.23. Safety Insurance Group has a 12 month low of $67.04 and a 12 month high of $84.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Safety Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SAFT) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The insurance provider reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by ($0.32). Safety Insurance Group had a net margin of 7.09% and a return on equity of 8.85%. The company had revenue of $323.21 million during the quarter.

Safety Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st were issued a dividend of $0.92 per share. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. Safety Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.48%.

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.