AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF) Hits New 52-Week High Following Earnings Beat

AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF) shares reached a new 52-week high on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $55.00 and last traded at $53.56, with a volume of 20555 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $50.79.

The insurance provider reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.02. AMERISAFE had a net margin of 18.46% and a return on equity of 16.38%. The company had revenue of $78.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $75.38 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.61 EPS.

AMERISAFE Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $3.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This is a boost from AMERISAFE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $13.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 24.52%. AMERISAFE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on AMSF shares. Truist Financial upped their price target on AMERISAFE from $48.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $65.00 target price on shares of AMERISAFE in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of AMERISAFE from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th.

Institutional Trading of AMERISAFE

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AMSF. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in AMERISAFE by 8.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,472,739 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $73,887,000 after buying an additional 115,676 shares in the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC lifted 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 stake in shares of AMERISAFE by 13.5% during the second quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 701,806 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $30,802,000 after purchasing an additional 83,438 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc acquired a new stake in shares of AMERISAFE in the first quarter valued at approximately $23,251,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado raised its position in AMERISAFE by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 315,409 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $13,843,000 after purchasing an additional 15,196 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.41% of the company’s stock.

AMERISAFE Trading Down 2.1 %

The stock has a market cap of $1.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.13 and a beta of 0.34. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $49.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.10.

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.