Safety Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAFT) Short Interest Update

Safety Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAFT) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 126,900 shares, an increase of 20.9% from the November 15th total of 105,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 51,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.5 days. Currently, 0.9% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Safety Insurance Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its position in shares of Safety Insurance Group by 2.7% in the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 7,500 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $563,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC increased its holdings in Safety Insurance Group by 7.4% during the 2nd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 4,658 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $349,000 after acquiring an additional 319 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in Safety Insurance Group by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 7,386 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $554,000 after acquiring an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd raised its position in Safety Insurance Group by 4.8% during the second quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 11,771 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $883,000 after acquiring an additional 537 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Silver Lake Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Safety Insurance Group by 1.8% in the second quarter. Silver Lake Advisory LLC now owns 41,658 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,126,000 after purchasing an additional 752 shares in the last quarter. 81.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com raised Safety Insurance Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th.

Safety Insurance Group Stock Performance

Safety Insurance Group stock traded up $0.19 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $83.71. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 27,364 shares, compared to its average volume of 67,694. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.24 billion, a PE ratio of 16.58 and a beta of 0.19. Safety Insurance Group has a fifty-two week low of $71.99 and a fifty-two week high of $90.00. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $83.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.53.

Safety Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SAFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 6.86% and a return on equity of 6.35%. The company had revenue of $295.28 million during the quarter.

Safety Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.30%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. Safety Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 71.29%.

About Safety Insurance Group

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.