Safety Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SAFT) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Hold

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Safety Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SAFT) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning.

Safety Insurance Group Stock Performance

SAFT opened at $88.30 on Wednesday. Safety Insurance Group has a fifty-two week low of $71.99 and a fifty-two week high of $90.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.59 and a beta of 0.17. The company has a fifty day moving average of $82.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $80.54.

Safety Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SAFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The insurance provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $269.78 million during the quarter. Safety Insurance Group had a net margin of 4.96% and a return on equity of 5.53%.

Safety Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.08%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Safety Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 104.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Safety Insurance Group news, VP Glenn Hiltpold sold 389 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.41, for a total value of $32,835.49. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 11,204 shares in the company, valued at approximately $945,729.64. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 915 shares of company stock worth $75,125. 2.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SAFT. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in Safety Insurance Group by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 8,526 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $701,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp increased its stake in Safety Insurance Group by 1.3% during the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 12,946 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,064,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Safety Insurance Group by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,905 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $239,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Safety Insurance Group by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 7,500 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $563,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.04% of the company’s stock.

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.