Short Interest in AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF) Rises By 23.3%

AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF) was the target of a large growth in short interest in June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totalling 191,000 shares, a growth of 23.3% from the June 15th total of 154,900 shares. Approximately 1.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 129,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.5 days.

Insider Transactions at AMERISAFE

In other AMERISAFE news, Director Michael J. Brown acquired 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $43.52 per share, for a total transaction of $43,520.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,055 shares in the company, valued at approximately $437,593.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.45% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AMERISAFE

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of AMERISAFE by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,472,739 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $73,887,000 after acquiring an additional 115,676 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings 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 worth $65,411,000 after purchasing an additional 37,048 shares during the period. Champlain Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 97,280 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AMERISAFE by 18.4% in the 4th quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 678,321 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $31,732,000 after buying an additional 105,414 shares during the period. Finally, M&G Plc bought a new stake in shares of AMERISAFE in the 1st quarter valued at $23,251,000. Institutional investors own 97.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on AMSF shares. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of AMERISAFE in a research note on Monday, April 15th. StockNews.com raised AMERISAFE from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th.

AMERISAFE Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of AMSF stock opened at $45.35 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $868.00 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.13 and a beta of 0.33. AMERISAFE has a 12 month low of $41.97 and a 12 month high of $56.54. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $44.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.39.

AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The insurance provider reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.03. AMERISAFE had a net margin of 19.97% and a return on equity of 16.76%. The business had revenue of $80.49 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $75.22 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.83 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that AMERISAFE will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AMERISAFE Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.26%. AMERISAFE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.11%.

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.