Safety Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SAFT) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $2.17 EPS

Safety Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SAFT) posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The insurance provider reported ($0.72) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.45 by ($2.17), FiscalAI reports. Safety Insurance Group had a net margin of 7.85% and a return on equity of 9.64%. The firm had revenue of $314.67 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $323.19 million.

Safety Insurance Group Stock Performance

SAFT stock traded down $1.43 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $72.87. 159,236 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 83,286. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $74.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $75.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.40. Safety Insurance Group has a 52 week low of $67.04 and a 52 week high of $84.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.07 billion, a PE ratio of 10.88 and a beta of 0.24.

Safety Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.92 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.1%. Safety Insurance Group’s payout ratio is presently 54.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on SAFT shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Safety Insurance Group in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Safety Insurance Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Safety Insurance Group currently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Insider Transactions at Safety Insurance Group

In other news, major shareholder Corp Srb sold 14,151 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.12, for a total value of $1,006,419.12. Following the transaction, the insider owned 1,794,655 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $127,635,863.60. This represents a 0.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 36,304 shares of company stock worth $2,728,283. Insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SAFT. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Safety Insurance Group by 62.5% in 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 during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Safety Insurance Group by 1,317.1% in 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 during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings 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 worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Safety Insurance Group in the fourth quarter worth $52,000. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Safety Insurance Group by 309.4% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,130 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 854 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.04% of the company’s stock.

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.