AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF) & Skyward Specialty Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SKWD) Financial Review

AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF) and Skyward Specialty Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SKWD) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings, dividends, risk and institutional ownership.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

97.4% of AMERISAFE shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 94.8% of Skyward Specialty Insurance Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.6% of AMERISAFE shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 8.0% of Skyward Specialty Insurance Group shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares AMERISAFE and Skyward Specialty Insurance Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
AMERISAFE	20.24%	17.19%	4.38%
Skyward Specialty Insurance Group	9.56%	14.31%	2.84%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for AMERISAFE and Skyward Specialty Insurance Group, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
AMERISAFE	0	0	1	0	3.00
Skyward Specialty Insurance Group	0	1	6	1	3.00

AMERISAFE presently has a consensus target price of $65.00, suggesting a potential upside of 29.97%. Skyward Specialty Insurance Group has a consensus target price of $39.89, suggesting a potential upside of 13.13%. Given AMERISAFE’s higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe AMERISAFE is more favorable than Skyward Specialty Insurance Group.

Risk & Volatility

AMERISAFE has a beta of 0.32, indicating that its share price is 68% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Skyward Specialty Insurance Group has a beta of 0.45, indicating that its share price is 55% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares AMERISAFE and Skyward Specialty Insurance Group’s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
AMERISAFE	$306.85 million	3.12	$62.11 million	$3.23	15.48
Skyward Specialty Insurance Group	$895.40 million	1.57	$85.98 million	$2.24	15.74

Skyward Specialty Insurance Group has higher revenue and earnings than AMERISAFE. AMERISAFE is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Skyward Specialty Insurance Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

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. AMERISAFE, Inc. was incorporated in 1985 and is based in DeRidder, Louisiana.

About Skyward Specialty Insurance Group

Skyward Specialty Insurance Group, Inc., an insurance holding company, underwrites commercial property and casualty insurance products in the United States. It offers general liability, excess liability, professional liability, commercial auto, group accident and health, property, surety, and workers' compensation insurance products. The company was incorporated in 2006 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.