Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Buys Shares of 19,155 Safety Insurance Group, Inc. $SAFT

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Safety Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAFT) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 19,155 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,391,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.13% of Safety Insurance Group at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL raised its position in shares of Safety Insurance Group by 285.7% in the 3rd quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 28,204 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,994,000 after purchasing an additional 20,892 shares during the last quarter. TABR Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Safety Insurance Group during the fourth quarter worth about $2,935,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its position in Safety Insurance Group by 18.5% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 83,787 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $6,528,000 after buying an additional 13,082 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Safety Insurance Group by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,661,343 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $129,435,000 after buying an additional 29,511 shares during the period. Finally, UBS Group AG increased its holdings in Safety Insurance Group by 118.3% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 29,255 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,279,000 after buying an additional 15,855 shares during the period. 81.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on SAFT shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Safety Insurance Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Safety Insurance Group in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Safety Insurance Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold”.

Safety Insurance Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SAFT opened at $76.26 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.12 billion, a PE ratio of 18.03 and a beta of 0.21. Safety Insurance Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $67.04 and a fifty-two week high of $81.49. The company has a fifty day moving average of $72.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $74.93.

Safety Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SAFT) last announced its 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). Safety Insurance Group had a net margin of 4.94% and a return on equity of 6.31%. The company had revenue of $314.67 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $315.01 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that Safety Insurance Group, Inc. will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Safety Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st were issued a $0.92 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.8%. Safety Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 87.00%.

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.