Safety Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SAFT) Reaches New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Safety Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAFT) shares hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $103.75 and last traded at $103.7350, with a volume of 68404 shares. The stock had previously closed at $103.59.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on SAFT. Wall Street Zen upgraded Safety Insurance Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Safety Insurance Group from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Safety Insurance Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Safety Insurance Group Trading Down 0.1%

The stock has a market cap of $1.52 billion, a PE ratio of 22.35 and a beta of 0.17. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $87.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $78.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Safety Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SAFT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The insurance provider reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.00 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $325.68 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $325.68 million. Safety Insurance Group had a return on equity of 7.23% and a net margin of 5.33%. Equities analysts forecast that Safety Insurance Group, Inc. will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Safety Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be paid a $0.92 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. Safety Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 79.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Safety Insurance Group news, major shareholder Corp Srb sold 1,240,352 shares of Safety Insurance Group stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 473,387 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,791,998.09. The trade was a 72.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,316,109 shares of company stock valued at $134,654,987. 2.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Safety Insurance Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SAFT. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Safety Insurance Group by 7,152.6% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 1,037,709 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $77,683,000 after acquiring an additional 1,023,401 shares during the period. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC increased its holdings in Safety Insurance Group by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC now owns 7,086 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $530,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares during the period. Archer Investment Corp purchased a new stake in Safety Insurance Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $487,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in Safety Insurance Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $128,000. Finally, Parvin Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Safety Insurance Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $121,000. 81.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Safety Insurance Group

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.