Safety Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SAFT) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Buy” Rating

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Safety Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SAFT) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday.

Separately, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Safety Insurance Group in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Safety Insurance Group Price Performance

NASDAQ SAFT opened at $77.63 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.59 and a beta of 0.22. Safety Insurance Group has a 1-year low of $67.04 and a 1-year high of $84.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 0.41 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $77.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $74.81.

Safety Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SAFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The insurance provider reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.23. Safety Insurance Group had a return on equity of 9.69% and a net margin of 7.85%.The company had revenue of $319.34 million during the quarter.

Safety Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.92 per share. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. Safety Insurance Group’s payout ratio is currently 54.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Corp Srb sold 11,487 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.36, for a total transaction of $900,121.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,821,510 shares in the company, valued at approximately $142,733,523.60. The trade was a 0.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold a total of 20,954 shares of company stock valued at $1,634,265 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Safety Insurance Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SAFT. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of Safety Insurance Group by 74.8% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 388 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in Safety Insurance Group by 62.5% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 416 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its stake in Safety Insurance Group by 419.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 488 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Safety Insurance Group by 1,317.1% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 496 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 461 shares during the period. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Safety Insurance Group by 653.0% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 497 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.04% of the company’s stock.

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.