Point72 DIFC Ltd Invests $100,000 in AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF)

Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,276 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $100,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted 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 during the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in AMERISAFE by 12.8% in the first quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 855,916 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $42,941,000 after buying an additional 97,280 shares during the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its holdings 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 valued at $30,802,000 after acquiring an additional 83,438 shares during the period. M&G Plc purchased a new position in shares of AMERISAFE during the first quarter worth approximately $23,251,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado increased its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $13,843,000 after acquiring an additional 15,196 shares during the period. 97.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AMSF. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of AMERISAFE in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of AMERISAFE from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th.

AMERISAFE Trading Up 2.3 %

NASDAQ:AMSF opened at $49.45 on Wednesday. AMERISAFE, Inc. has a 12-month low of $41.97 and a 12-month high of $54.80. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $48.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.94. The firm has a market cap of $946.23 million, a P/E ratio of 15.40 and a beta of 0.34.

AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 29th. The insurance provider reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.03). AMERISAFE had a return on equity of 16.38% and a net margin of 18.46%. The firm had revenue of $75.83 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $74.20 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.73 EPS. Research analysts forecast that AMERISAFE, Inc. will post 2.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AMERISAFE Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th were given a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. 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.