AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF) by 4.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 90,017 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 4,619 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in AMERISAFE were worth $4,351,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado lifted its position in AMERISAFE by 5.1% during 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 acquiring an additional 15,196 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of AMERISAFE by 8.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 811,561 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $39,223,000 after purchasing an additional 63,638 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of AMERISAFE by 70.6% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 41,299 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,996,000 after purchasing an additional 17,084 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in AMERISAFE by 365.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 33,219 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,605,000 after purchasing an additional 26,084 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in AMERISAFE during the 2nd quarter worth $591,000. 97.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AMSF. Truist Financial lifted their target price 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 restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $65.00 price objective on shares of AMERISAFE in a report on Tuesday, October 15th.

AMERISAFE Price Performance

Shares of AMSF stock opened at $51.24 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $55.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $50.32. The firm has a market cap of $976.12 million, a P/E ratio of 16.01 and a beta of 0.33. AMERISAFE, Inc. has a 1-year low of $41.97 and a 1-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 the consensus estimate of $75.38 million. AMERISAFE had a return on equity of 16.50% and a net margin of 19.49%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.61 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that AMERISAFE, Inc. will post 2.45 EPS for the current year.

AMERISAFE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a $3.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $13.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 26.31%. This is a boost from AMERISAFE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. AMERISAFE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.25%.

AMERISAFE 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.