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

JMP Securities restated their market outperform rating on shares of AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF) in a research report report published on Monday, Benzinga reports. JMP Securities currently has a $65.00 price target on the insurance provider’s stock.

Separately, TheStreet upgraded AMERISAFE from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th.

AMERISAFE Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ AMSF opened at $48.32 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $924.84 million, a P/E ratio of 14.96 and a beta of 0.32. AMERISAFE has a 1-year low of $45.34 and a 1-year high of $57.06. The business’s 50 day moving average is $50.20 and its 200-day moving average is $49.60.

AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The insurance provider reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $73.88 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $75.15 million. AMERISAFE had a return on equity of 17.19% and a net margin of 20.24%. Analysts forecast that AMERISAFE will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

AMERISAFE Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a $0.37 dividend. This is a positive change from AMERISAFE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. AMERISAFE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.82%.

Institutional Trading of AMERISAFE

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in AMERISAFE by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,398,263 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $65,411,000 after acquiring an additional 37,048 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in AMERISAFE by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,357,063 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $63,483,000 after acquiring an additional 26,009 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of AMERISAFE by 6.3% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 776,539 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $38,881,000 after buying an additional 46,295 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of AMERISAFE by 4.2% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 738,721 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $36,160,000 after buying an additional 29,968 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of AMERISAFE by 27.8% during the second quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 679,183 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $35,325,000 after buying an additional 147,618 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.41% of the company’s stock.

About AMERISAFE

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.