Does Safety Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SAFT) Deserve A Spot On Your Watchlist?
Some have more dollars than sense, they say, so even companies that have no revenue, no profit, and a record of falling short, can easily find investors. But the reality is that when a company loses money each year, for long enough, its investors will usually take their share of those losses.
In the age of tech-stock blue-sky investing, my choice may seem old fashioned; I still prefer profitable companies like Safety Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SAFT). While profit is not necessarily a social good, it's easy to admire a business that can consistently produce it. Loss-making companies are always racing against time to reach financial sustainability, but time is often a friend of the profitable company, especially if it is growing.
View our latest analysis for Safety Insurance Group
How Quickly Is Safety Insurance Group Increasing Earnings Per Share?
As one of my mentors once told me, share price follows earnings per share (EPS). It's no surprise, then, that I like to invest in companies with EPS growth. As a tree reaches steadily for the sky, Safety Insurance Group's EPS has grown 21% each year, compound, over three years. As a general rule, we'd say that if a company can keep up that sort of growth, shareholders will be smiling.
One way to double-check a company's growth is to look at how its revenue, and earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) margins are changing. Not all of Safety Insurance Group's revenue last year was revenue from operations, so keep in mind the revenue and margin numbers I've used might not be the best representation of the underlying business. Safety Insurance Group's EBIT margins have actually improved by 4.1 percentage points in the last year, to reach 17%, but, on the flip side, revenue was down 2.6%. That's not ideal.
The chart below shows how the company's bottom and top lines have progressed over time. To see the actual numbers, click on the chart.
While it's always good to see growing profits, you should always remember that a weak balance sheet could come back to bite. So check Safety Insurance Group's balance sheet strength, before getting too excited.
Are Safety Insurance Group Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?
Like the kids in the streets standing up for their beliefs, insider share purchases give me reason to believe in a brighter future. Because oftentimes, the purchase of stock is a sign that the buyer views it as undervalued. However, small purchases are not always indicative of conviction, and insiders don't always get it right.
While we did see insider selling of Safety Insurance Group stock in the last year, one single insider spent plenty more buying. To wit, Independent Director Frederic Lindeberg outlaid US$562k for shares, at about US$72.10 per share. That certainly pricks my ears up.
Along with the insider buying, another encouraging sign for Safety Insurance Group is that insiders, as a group, have a considerable shareholding. Given insiders own a small fortune of shares, currently valued at US$63m, they have plenty of motivation to push the business to succeed. That's certainly enough to make me think that management will be very focussed on long term growth.
While insiders are apparently happy to hold and accumulate shares, that is just part of the pretty picture. The cherry on top is that the CEO, George Murphy is paid comparatively modestly to CEOs at similar sized companies. For companies with market capitalizations between US$1.0b and US$3.2b, like Safety Insurance Group, the median CEO pay is around US$3.9m.
The Safety Insurance Group CEO received US$3.3m in compensation for the year ending . That comes in below the average for similar sized companies, and seems pretty reasonable to me. CEO remuneration levels are not the most important metric for investors, but when the pay is modest, that does support enhanced alignment between the CEO and the ordinary shareholders. It can also be a sign of a culture of integrity, in a broader sense.
Does Safety Insurance Group Deserve A Spot On Your Watchlist?
You can't deny that Safety Insurance Group has grown its earnings per share at a very impressive rate. That's attractive. The cranberry sauce on the turkey is that insiders own a bunch of shares, and one has been buying more. So I do think this is one stock worth watching. Of course, identifying quality businesses is only half the battle; investors need to know whether the stock is undervalued. So you might want to consider this free discounted cashflow valuation of Safety Insurance Group.
As a growth investor I do like to see insider buying. But Safety Insurance Group isn't the only one. You can see a a free list of them here.
Please note the insider transactions discussed in this article refer to reportable transactions in the relevant jurisdiction.
This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
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