AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF) was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report issued on Friday.

AMSF has been the subject of a number of other reports. TheStreet raised AMERISAFE from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of AMERISAFE in a report on Monday, April 15th.

AMERISAFE Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of AMSF opened at $45.56 on Friday. AMERISAFE has a 1 year low of $44.88 and a 1 year high of $57.06. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $50.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $49.51. The stock has a market cap of $872.02 million, a PE ratio of 14.19 and a beta of 0.32.

AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The insurance provider reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.08. AMERISAFE had a return on equity of 16.76% and a net margin of 19.97%. The business had revenue of $73.88 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $75.15 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that AMERISAFE will post 2.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AMERISAFE

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in AMERISAFE by 132.8% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 35,128 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,762,000 after purchasing an additional 20,040 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in AMERISAFE by 209.8% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 5,508 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $276,000 after purchasing an additional 3,730 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co increased its holdings in AMERISAFE by 32.2% during the 1st quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 7,361 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $369,000 after purchasing an additional 1,792 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in AMERISAFE by 26.9% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,901 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $182,000 after purchasing an additional 828 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its holdings in AMERISAFE by 18.4% during the 4th quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 678,321 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $31,732,000 after purchasing an additional 105,414 shares in the last quarter. 97.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.