Short Interest in AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF) Increases By 13.7%

AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 172,700 shares, a growth 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 currently 1.4 days. Approximately 0.9% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AMERISAFE

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Diversified Trust Co raised its position in AMERISAFE by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 8,916 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $431,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of AMERISAFE by 6.9% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 5,882 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $284,000 after buying an additional 381 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of AMERISAFE by 97.1% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 822 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 405 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of AMERISAFE by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 8,503 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $411,000 after acquiring an additional 461 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AMERISAFE in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. 97.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMSF has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $65.00 target price on shares of AMERISAFE in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of AMERISAFE from $48.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th.

AMERISAFE Stock Down 0.5 %

NASDAQ:AMSF opened at $51.35 on Tuesday. AMERISAFE has a twelve month low of $41.97 and a twelve month high of $60.24. The stock has a market cap of $978.22 million, a P/E ratio of 16.05 and a beta of 0.33. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $55.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $50.24.

AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF) last released 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. AMERISAFE had a net margin of 19.49% and a return on equity of 16.50%. The business had revenue of $78.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $75.38 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.61 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a dividend of $3.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $13.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 26.25%. This is a positive change from AMERISAFE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. AMERISAFE’s payout ratio is 46.25%.

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.