Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Holdings in Safety Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAFT)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Safety Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAFT) by 2.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 73,878 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,926 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.50% of Safety Insurance Group worth $5,827,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SAFT. Barclays PLC increased its position in Safety Insurance Group by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 25,851 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,129,000 after acquiring an additional 1,421 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Safety Insurance Group by 52.2% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 18,137 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,431,000 after buying an additional 6,223 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Safety Insurance Group by 67.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 811 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 328 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co acquired a new position in Safety Insurance Group in the 1st quarter valued at $430,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Safety Insurance Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $927,000. 81.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded Safety Insurance Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd.

Safety Insurance Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SAFT opened at $72.47 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $79.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $78.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.82 and a beta of 0.26. Safety Insurance Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $70.71 and a 1-year high of $90.00.

Safety Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SAFT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The insurance provider reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $298.97 million during the quarter. Safety Insurance Group had a return on equity of 7.99% and a net margin of 6.29%.

Safety Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were paid a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.97%. Safety Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.62%.

About Safety Insurance Group

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.