Ieq Capital LLC Takes Position in Safety Insurance Group, Inc. $SAFT

Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Safety Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAFT) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 21,995 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,647,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in Safety Insurance Group by 74.8% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 388 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Bayban bought a new stake in shares of Safety Insurance Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Safety Insurance Group by 62.5% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 416 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Safety Insurance Group by 653.0% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 497 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 431 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Safety Insurance Group by 1,317.1% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 496 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 461 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.04% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SAFT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Safety Insurance Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Safety Insurance Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Safety Insurance Group from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Insider Activity at Safety Insurance Group

In other news, major shareholder Corp Srb sold 1,240,352 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.07, for a total transaction of $127,843,080.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 473,387 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,791,998.09. This represents a 72.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold 1,316,109 shares of company stock valued at $134,654,987 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Safety Insurance Group Stock Performance

Shares of SAFT opened at $103.69 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.35 and a beta of 0.17. Safety Insurance Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $67.04 and a twelve month high of $103.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.41. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $87.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $78.90.

Safety Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SAFT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The insurance provider reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.00 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $325.68 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $325.68 million. Safety Insurance Group had a net margin of 5.33% and a return on equity of 7.23%. On average, analysts forecast that Safety Insurance Group, Inc. will post 4.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Safety Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be paid a $0.92 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Safety Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 79.31%.

Safety Insurance Group Profile

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.