AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF) Shares Sold by Cwm LLC

Cwm LLC lessened its position in shares of AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF) by 8.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 19,732 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 1,781 shares during the quarter. Cwm LLC’s holdings in AMERISAFE were worth $923,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMSF. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in AMERISAFE by 10.4% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 154,569 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $7,739,000 after purchasing an additional 14,572 shares during the period. Eagle Asset Management Inc. increased its position in AMERISAFE by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 104,820 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $5,248,000 after acquiring an additional 465 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in AMERISAFE by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 61,653 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,087,000 after acquiring an additional 2,672 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in AMERISAFE by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 46,287 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,318,000 after acquiring an additional 431 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in AMERISAFE during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,962,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.41% of the company’s stock.

AMERISAFE Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of AMSF opened at $45.56 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $871.79 million, a PE ratio of 14.19 and a beta of 0.32. AMERISAFE, Inc. has a twelve month low of $44.88 and a twelve month high of $57.06. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $50.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.50.

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

AMERISAFE Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 21st. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.25%. AMERISAFE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com lowered AMERISAFE from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday. TheStreet upgraded shares of AMERISAFE from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $65.00 price objective on shares of AMERISAFE in a research report on Monday, April 15th.

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.