BNP Paribas Financial Markets Has $284,000 Stake in AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF) by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,882 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 381 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in AMERISAFE were worth $284,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Granite Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of AMERISAFE by 136.0% during the 2nd quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC now owns 147,654 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,481,000 after acquiring an additional 85,089 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of AMERISAFE by 13.5% in the second quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 701,806 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $30,802,000 after purchasing an additional 83,438 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in AMERISAFE by 70.4% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 114,088 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $5,514,000 after purchasing an additional 47,131 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in AMERISAFE by 238.6% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 61,946 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,719,000 after purchasing an additional 43,649 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in AMERISAFE in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,107,000. 97.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AMERISAFE Price Performance

Shares of AMSF opened at $53.70 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $55.07 and a 200-day moving average of $49.51. The company has a market cap of $1.02 billion, a PE ratio of 16.78 and a beta of 0.33. AMERISAFE, Inc. has a one year low of $41.97 and a one year high of $60.24.

AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The insurance provider reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $78.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $75.38 million. AMERISAFE had a return on equity of 16.50% and a net margin of 19.49%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.61 earnings per share. Analysts expect that AMERISAFE, Inc. will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current year.

AMERISAFE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a $3.37 dividend. This represents a $13.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 25.10%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. This is a boost from AMERISAFE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. AMERISAFE’s dividend payout ratio is 46.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on AMSF. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $65.00 price objective on shares of AMERISAFE in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Truist Financial upped their target price on AMERISAFE from $48.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th.

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.