Safety Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAFT) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Safety Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAFT) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 99,900 shares, an increase of 32.5% from the February 28th total of 75,400 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 58,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.7 days. Currently, 0.7% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Safety Insurance Group Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of Safety Insurance Group stock traded down $0.13 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $79.84. 40,845 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 52,730. The business has a 50-day moving average of $77.80 and a 200-day moving average of $80.74. Safety Insurance Group has a 1 year low of $73.38 and a 1 year high of $90.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.81 and a beta of 0.13.

Safety Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SAFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The insurance provider reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by ($0.23). The firm had revenue of $286.72 million for the quarter. Safety Insurance Group had a return on equity of 6.35% and a net margin of 6.86%.

Safety Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Safety Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 75.47%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Safety Insurance Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Safety Insurance Group by 17.5% in the fourth quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 602,449 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $49,642,000 after buying an additional 89,561 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Safety Insurance Group by 46.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 219,960 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $18,125,000 after acquiring an additional 69,750 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Safety Insurance Group during the 4th quarter worth $4,023,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Safety Insurance Group by 21.4% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 212,354 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $17,498,000 after purchasing an additional 37,495 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Safety Insurance Group by 348.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 24,430 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,997,000 after purchasing an additional 18,987 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.04% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Safety Insurance Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th.

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.