Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 137,715 Shares of AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lessened its position in shares of AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF) by 12.1% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 995,805 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 137,715 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.05% of AMERISAFE worth $43,706,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings 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 purchasing 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 1st quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 855,916 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $42,941,000 after buying an additional 97,280 shares during the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its stake in AMERISAFE by 18.4% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. M&G Plc bought a new position in AMERISAFE in the first quarter valued at about $23,251,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado grew its position in AMERISAFE by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 301,819 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $14,119,000 after acquiring an additional 12,433 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $65.00 price objective on shares of AMERISAFE in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of AMERISAFE from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th.

AMERISAFE Trading Down 0.7 %

AMERISAFE stock opened at $48.19 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $918.98 million, a PE ratio of 15.01 and a beta of 0.34. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $47.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $47.37. AMERISAFE, Inc. has a 12 month low of $41.97 and a 12 month high of $54.80.

AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The insurance provider reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $75.83 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $74.20 million. AMERISAFE had a return on equity of 16.38% and a net margin of 18.46%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.73 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that AMERISAFE, Inc. will post 2.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AMERISAFE Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.07%. AMERISAFE’s payout ratio is 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.