Safety Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SAFT) Upgraded by Zacks Research to Hold Rating

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Safety Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SAFT) to a hold rating in a research note published on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Separately, Wall Street Zen cut Safety Insurance Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Safety Insurance Group Trading Down 1.1%

NASDAQ:SAFT opened at $70.47 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $73.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $75.73. The stock has a market cap of $1.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.66 and a beta of 0.24. Safety Insurance Group has a 1 year low of $67.04 and a 1 year high of $83.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.39.

Safety Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SAFT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The insurance provider reported ($0.72) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.45 by ($2.17). The business had revenue of $314.67 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $315.01 million. Safety Insurance Group had a return on equity of 6.31% and a net margin of 4.94%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Safety Insurance Group will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Safety Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st will be paid a $0.92 dividend. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. Safety Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 87.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Safety Insurance Group news, major shareholder Corp Srb sold 14,151 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.12, for a total transaction of $1,006,419.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 1,794,655 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $127,635,863.60. This trade represents a 0.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 2.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Safety Insurance Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in Safety Insurance Group by 74.8% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 388 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Bayban acquired a new position in Safety Insurance Group in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Safety Insurance Group by 62.5% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 416 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its stake in shares of Safety Insurance Group by 419.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 488 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 461 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.