Safety Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAFT) Short Interest Down 39.5% in February

Safety Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAFT) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 79,900 shares, a decline of 39.5% from the January 31st total of 132,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 55,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.4 days. Approximately 0.6% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Safety Insurance Group Price Performance

SAFT traded up $0.08 on Friday, reaching $76.14. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 73,980 shares, compared to its average volume of 47,187. Safety Insurance Group has a 1 year low of $73.38 and a 1 year high of $90.00. The stock has a market cap of $1.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.08 and a beta of 0.20. The business’s 50 day moving average is $79.22 and its 200 day moving average is $81.80.

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

Safety Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.73%. Safety Insurance Group’s payout ratio is currently 75.47%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SAFT. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in shares of Safety Insurance Group by 94.9% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 308 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in Safety Insurance Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Safety Insurance Group by 823.5% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 471 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 420 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Safety Insurance Group by 52.2% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,000 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $82,000 after buying an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Safety Insurance Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $181,000. 81.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.