Safety Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SAFT) Rating Increased to Hold at Zacks Research

Safety Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SAFT) was upgraded by analysts at Zacks Research to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Separately, Wall Street Zen lowered Safety Insurance Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, May 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Safety Insurance Group Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:SAFT opened at $70.47 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $73.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $75.73. The firm has a market cap of $1.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.66 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.39. Safety Insurance Group has a 52-week low of $67.04 and a 52-week high of $83.11.

Safety Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SAFT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The insurance provider reported ($0.72) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.45 by ($2.17). The firm had revenue of $314.67 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $315.01 million. Safety Insurance Group had a return on equity of 6.31% and a net margin of 4.94%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Safety Insurance Group will post 4.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Safety Insurance Group

In other news, major shareholder Corp Srb sold 14,151 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.12, for a total value of $1,006,419.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 1,794,655 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $127,635,863.60. This represents a 0.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Safety Insurance Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of Safety Insurance Group by 74.8% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 388 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Bayban purchased a new stake in shares of Safety Insurance Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Safety Insurance Group by 62.5% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 416 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its stake in shares of Safety Insurance Group by 419.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 488 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Safety Insurance Group by 653.0% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 497 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares during the last quarter. 81.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Safety Insurance Group

Safety Insurance Group, Inc is a publicly traded property and casualty insurance holding company incorporated in Massachusetts in 1994. Its principal subsidiary, Safety Insurance Company, traces its roots back to 1923 and has since evolved into a regional personal lines insurer. The company is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, and trades on the Nasdaq under the symbol SAFT.

Safety Insurance Group focuses primarily on private passenger automobile and homeowners insurance products, along with dwelling fire, umbrella liability, and certain commercial auto coverages.