AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF) Earns Market Outperform Rating from JMP Securities

by · The Markets Daily

JMP Securities reiterated their market outperform rating on shares of AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF – Free Report) in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $65.00 target price on the insurance provider’s stock.

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of AMERISAFE from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th.

Read Our Latest Report on AMSF

AMERISAFE Stock Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ AMSF opened at $51.41 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $983.73 million, a PE ratio of 16.02 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $48.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $46.92. AMERISAFE has a 12-month low of $41.97 and a 12-month high of $54.80.

AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 29th. The insurance provider reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.03). AMERISAFE had a return on equity of 16.38% and a net margin of 18.46%. The firm had revenue of $75.83 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $74.20 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.73 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that AMERISAFE will post 2.4 EPS for the current year.

AMERISAFE Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th were paid a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. AMERISAFE’s payout ratio is 46.11%.

Institutional Trading of AMERISAFE

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. M&G Plc bought a new position in AMERISAFE during the first quarter worth $23,251,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in AMERISAFE by 8.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,472,739 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $73,887,000 after acquiring an additional 115,676 shares during the period. Champlain Investment Partners LLC increased its position in AMERISAFE by 12.8% during the first quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 855,916 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $42,941,000 after acquiring an additional 97,280 shares during the period. Granite Investment Partners LLC increased its position in AMERISAFE by 136.0% during the second quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC now owns 147,654 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,481,000 after acquiring an additional 85,089 shares during the period. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its position in AMERISAFE by 13.5% during the second quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 701,806 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $30,802,000 after acquiring an additional 83,438 shares during the period. 97.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AMERISAFE Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

AMERISAFE, Inc, an insurance holding company, underwrites workers’ compensation insurance in the United States. The company provides benefits to injured employees for temporary or permanent disability, death, and medical and hospital expenses. It sells its products through retail and wholesale brokers and agents; and small and mid-sized employers engaged in hazardous industries, including construction, trucking, logging and lumber, agriculture, manufacturing, telecommunications, and maritime.

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