By otakuyassine3@gmail.com 
AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF – Get Free Report) saw a large decline in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 151,900 shares, a decline of 26.8% from the November 15th total of 207,600 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 122,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.2 days. Currently, 0.8% of the company’s stock are sold short.
Institutional Trading of AMERISAFE
Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Diversified Trust Co increased its stake in AMERISAFE by 16.7% in the 2nd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 8,591 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $377,000 after buying an additional 1,230 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in AMERISAFE by 90.6% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 66,957 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,939,000 after purchasing an additional 31,829 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in AMERISAFE by 1.3% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 283,307 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $12,434,000 after purchasing an additional 3,719 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in AMERISAFE by 37.2% in the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 6,413 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $281,000 after purchasing an additional 1,739 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Isthmus Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of AMERISAFE by 14.4% during the 2nd quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 76,870 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 9,672 shares in the last quarter. 97.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
AMERISAFE Stock Performance
Shares of NASDAQ:AMSF traded down $0.25 on Friday, hitting $53.70. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 65,216 shares, compared to its average volume of 124,647. The company has a market capitalization of $1.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.78 and a beta of 0.33. AMERISAFE has a 12 month low of $41.97 and a 12 month high of $60.24. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $55.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.51.
AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The insurance provider reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.02. AMERISAFE had a return on equity of 16.50% and a net margin of 19.49%. The firm had revenue of $78.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $75.38 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.61 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that AMERISAFE will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
AMERISAFE Increases Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were given a $3.37 dividend. This is a positive change from AMERISAFE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $13.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 25.10%. AMERISAFE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.25%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several analysts have issued reports on the company. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $65.00 price objective on shares of AMERISAFE in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Truist Financial upped their price target on AMERISAFE from $48.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th.
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.
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