AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF) Cut to “Sell” at Wall Street Zen

by · The Markets Daily

Wall Street Zen cut shares of AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF – Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday morning.

AMSF has been the topic of several other research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AMERISAFE in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of AMERISAFE in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. JMP Securities cut their price target on AMERISAFE from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of AMERISAFE from $54.00 to $50.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AMERISAFE presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.00.

Read Our Latest Research Report on AMSF

AMERISAFE Price Performance

AMSF opened at $40.91 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $774.18 million, a PE ratio of 15.67 and a beta of 0.33. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $42.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $44.52. AMERISAFE has a 1 year low of $39.09 and a 1 year high of $60.24.

AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The insurance provider reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55. The business had revenue of $81.98 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $78.29 million. AMERISAFE had a net margin of 16.12% and a return on equity of 17.16%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AMERISAFE will post 2.45 EPS for the current year.

AMERISAFE Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a special dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 12th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th will be paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. This represents a dividend yield of 394.0%. AMERISAFE’s payout ratio is 59.77%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AMERISAFE

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lifted its position in shares of AMERISAFE by 7.3% in the second quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 4,888 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $214,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its stake in AMERISAFE by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 87,449 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,824,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in AMERISAFE by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 17,701 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $776,000 after purchasing an additional 377 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in AMERISAFE by 38.6% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,633 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in AMERISAFE by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 11,313 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $594,000 after purchasing an additional 471 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.41% of the company’s stock.

About AMERISAFE

(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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