Safety Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SAFT) Raised to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Safety Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SAFT) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Thursday.

Safety Insurance Group Stock Performance

Shares of SAFT stock opened at $84.86 on Thursday. Safety Insurance Group has a fifty-two week low of $71.99 and a fifty-two week high of $90.00. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $81.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $80.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.80 and a beta of 0.17.

Safety Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SAFT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.40 by ($0.30). Safety Insurance Group had a return on equity of 6.35% and a net margin of 6.86%. The company had revenue of $295.28 million for the quarter.

Safety Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.24%. Safety Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 71.29%.

Insider Transactions at Safety Insurance Group

In other news, VP Glenn Hiltpold sold 389 shares of Safety Insurance Group stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.41, for a total transaction of $32,835.49. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 11,204 shares in the company, valued at $945,729.64. The trade was a 3.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Safety Insurance Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SAFT. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Safety Insurance Group by 458.9% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 313 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Safety Insurance Group during the 1st quarter worth about $152,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. acquired a new stake in shares of Safety Insurance Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $202,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Safety Insurance Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $213,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Safety Insurance Group by 7.3% during the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,905 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $239,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. 81.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Safety Insurance Group Company Profile

Safety Insurance Group, Inc provides private passenger and commercial automobile, and homeowner insurance in the United States. The company’s private passenger automobile policies offer coverage for bodily injury and property damage to others, no-fault personal injury coverage for the insured/insured’s car occupants, and physical damage coverage for an insured’s own vehicle for collision or other perils.