Safety Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAFT) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Safety Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAFT) saw a large increase in short interest in February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 162,078 shares, an increase of 37.9% from the January 29th total of 117,527 shares. Approximately 1.1% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 75,458 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.1 days. Based on an average trading volume of 75,458 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.1 days. Approximately 1.1% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Safety Insurance Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SAFT traded up $0.18 on Wednesday, hitting $75.88. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 14,139 shares, compared to its average volume of 72,793. The company has a market capitalization of $1.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.33 and a beta of 0.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.40. Safety Insurance Group has a 12 month low of $67.04 and a 12 month high of $84.20. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $77.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.85.

Safety Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SAFT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The insurance provider reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.23. Safety Insurance Group had a net margin of 7.85% and a return on equity of 9.64%. The firm had revenue of $319.34 million during the quarter.

Safety Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.92 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.8%. Safety Insurance Group’s payout ratio is presently 54.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Safety Insurance Group

In related news, major shareholder Corp Srb sold 11,487 shares of the company’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 sale, the insider directly owned 1,821,510 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $142,733,523.60. This represents a 0.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 20,954 shares of company stock valued at $1,634,265. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Safety Insurance Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Dean Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of Safety Insurance Group by 420.1% in the fourth quarter. Dean Capital Management now owns 33,261 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,591,000 after buying an additional 26,866 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its position in shares of Safety Insurance Group by 36.3% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 9,559 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $745,000 after purchasing an additional 2,546 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd grew its stake in shares of Safety Insurance Group by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 4,745 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $370,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP lifted its stake in 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 valued at $702,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Safety Insurance Group by 62.6% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 304,724 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $23,741,000 after buying an additional 117,261 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.04% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on SAFT shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Safety Insurance Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Safety Insurance Group in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold”.

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.