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

AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 132,800 shares, a decrease of 37.5% from the February 13th total of 212,500 shares. Currently, 0.7% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 92,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.4 days.

AMERISAFE Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMSF opened at $51.20 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $50.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $51.84. AMERISAFE has a 52-week low of $41.97 and a 52-week high of $60.24. The stock has a market cap of $975.36 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.00 and a beta of 0.33.

AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The insurance provider reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $73.51 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $77.37 million. AMERISAFE had a net margin of 19.49% and a return on equity of 16.50%. On average, analysts predict that AMERISAFE will post 2.45 EPS for the current year.

AMERISAFE Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.05%. AMERISAFE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.98%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AMERISAFE

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Isthmus Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of AMERISAFE by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 63,926 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,295,000 after acquiring an additional 316 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in shares of AMERISAFE by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 10,842 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $559,000 after acquiring an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of AMERISAFE by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 5,882 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $284,000 after acquiring an additional 381 shares in the last quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of AMERISAFE by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. now owns 5,350 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $276,000 after acquiring an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in shares of AMERISAFE by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 9,375 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $483,000 after buying an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. 97.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.