AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF) Short Interest Update

AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 218,400 shares, an increase of 26.5% from the August 31st total of 172,700 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 113,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.9 days. Currently, 1.2% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Institutional Trading of AMERISAFE

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of AMSF. EntryPoint Capital LLC boosted its position in AMERISAFE by 22.0% in the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 2,082 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $104,000 after purchasing an additional 376 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of AMERISAFE by 1,028.4% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 756 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 689 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in AMERISAFE by 5.8% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,852 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $695,000 after buying an additional 755 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in AMERISAFE by 26.9% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,901 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $182,000 after buying an additional 828 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC raised its position in AMERISAFE by 12.3% in the second quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 8,042 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $353,000 after acquiring an additional 880 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMSF has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of AMERISAFE from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of AMERISAFE in a report on Tuesday, July 30th.

AMERISAFE Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMSF traded down $0.17 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $48.31. 59,902 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 124,400. AMERISAFE has a one year low of $41.97 and a one year high of $54.80. The company has a market cap of $924.41 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.10 and a beta of 0.34. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $48.27 and a 200 day moving average of $47.06.

AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The insurance provider reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.61 by ($0.03). AMERISAFE had a net margin of 18.46% and a return on equity of 16.38%. The company had revenue of $75.83 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $74.20 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.73 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that AMERISAFE will post 2.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AMERISAFE Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.06%. AMERISAFE’s payout ratio is 46.11%.

AMERISAFE Company Profile

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.