AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 172,700 shares, an increase of 13.7% from the November 30th total of 151,900 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 125,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.4 days. Currently, 0.9% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Institutional Trading of AMERISAFE

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AMSF. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of AMERISAFE by 1.3% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 283,307 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $12,434,000 after buying an additional 3,719 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in shares of AMERISAFE by 37.2% in the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 6,413 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $281,000 after purchasing an additional 1,739 shares during the period. Isthmus Partners LLC increased its position in AMERISAFE by 14.4% during the second quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 76,870 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 9,672 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC raised its stake in AMERISAFE by 66.9% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 15,017 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $659,000 after purchasing an additional 6,020 shares during the period. Finally, Texas Permanent School Fund Corp grew its stake in shares of AMERISAFE by 65.8% in the 2nd quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 27,817 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,221,000 after buying an additional 11,040 shares during the period. 97.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AMERISAFE Price Performance

AMERISAFE stock opened at $51.35 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $978.22 million, a PE ratio of 16.05 and a beta of 0.33. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $55.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $50.24. AMERISAFE has a 12 month low of $41.97 and a 12 month high of $60.24.

AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF) last released its 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 net margin of 19.49% and a return on equity of 16.50%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.61 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that AMERISAFE will post 2.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AMERISAFE Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a $3.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. This is a positive change from AMERISAFE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $13.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 26.25%. AMERISAFE’s payout ratio is currently 46.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.