Safety Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAFT) Short Interest Up 20.9% in November

Safety Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAFT) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 126,900 shares, a growth of 20.9% from the November 15th total of 105,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 51,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.5 days. Approximately 0.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Safety Insurance Group Price Performance

Shares of SAFT traded down $0.06 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $83.65. 33,874 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 53,269. Safety Insurance Group has a 12 month low of $71.99 and a 12 month high of $90.00. The stock has a market cap of $1.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.49 and a beta of 0.19. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $83.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.56.

Safety Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SAFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Safety Insurance Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SAFT. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Safety Insurance Group by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 756,633 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $56,770,000 after buying an additional 11,146 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Safety Insurance Group by 0.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 589,457 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $48,206,000 after acquiring an additional 2,682 shares in the last quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Safety Insurance Group by 12.6% in the third quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 512,888 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $41,944,000 after purchasing an additional 57,320 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Safety Insurance Group by 0.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 355,390 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $29,070,000 after buying an additional 2,435 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Safety Insurance Group by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 233,023 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $19,057,000 after purchasing an additional 4,263 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.