Safety Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAFT) Short Interest Up 46.7% in January

Safety Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAFT) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 132,044 shares, an increase of 46.7% from the December 31st total of 89,992 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 67,928 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.9 days. Approximately 0.9% of the company’s stock are short sold. Approximately 0.9% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 67,928 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.9 days.

Safety Insurance Group Stock Up 2.0%

SAFT stock opened at $78.70 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $76.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $73.73. The company has a market capitalization of $1.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.36 and a beta of 0.23. Safety Insurance Group has a twelve month low of $67.04 and a twelve month high of $84.20.

Safety Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SAFT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The insurance provider reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.80 by ($0.32). Safety Insurance Group had a net margin of 7.09% and a return on equity of 8.85%. The company had revenue of $323.21 million during the quarter.

Safety Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st were paid a $0.92 dividend. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. Safety Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.48%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Safety Insurance Group in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold”.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in shares of Safety Insurance Group by 9.9% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 10,148 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $801,000 after acquiring an additional 914 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Safety Insurance Group by 19.7% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 34,093 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,689,000 after purchasing an additional 5,619 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in Safety Insurance Group by 4.7% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 8,734 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $689,000 after purchasing an additional 389 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in Safety Insurance Group by 284.9% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 85,761 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $6,765,000 after purchasing an additional 63,480 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in shares of Safety Insurance Group by 9.8% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 33,747 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,662,000 after purchasing an additional 3,011 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.04% of the company’s stock.

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.