Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Increases Stake in AMERISAFE, Inc. $AMSF

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF) by 9.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 723,562 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 61,767 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 3.80% of AMERISAFE worth $38,023,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of AMERISAFE in the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AMERISAFE by 301.6% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,554 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 1,167 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of AMERISAFE by 19.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,600 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC grew its stake in AMERISAFE by 336.1% in the 4th quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 3,925 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $202,000 after acquiring an additional 3,025 shares during the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd grew its stake in AMERISAFE by 144.2% in the 1st quarter. R Squared Ltd now owns 4,696 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $247,000 after acquiring an additional 2,773 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.41% of the company’s stock.

AMERISAFE Price Performance

AMERISAFE stock opened at $45.16 on Tuesday. AMERISAFE, Inc. has a 12-month low of $42.48 and a 12-month high of $60.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $857.63 million, a P/E ratio of 17.11 and a beta of 0.39. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $44.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.58.

AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The insurance provider reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.55 by ($0.02). AMERISAFE had a return on equity of 16.54% and a net margin of 16.46%. The firm had revenue of $79.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $77.30 million. As a group, analysts forecast that AMERISAFE, Inc. will post 2.45 EPS for the current year.

AMERISAFE Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th will be given a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. AMERISAFE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.09%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Anastasios Omiridis sold 1,343 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.75, for a total value of $60,099.25. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 2,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $100,821.75. This trade represents a 37.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.61% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on AMSF shares. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of AMERISAFE from $54.00 to $50.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 28th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of AMERISAFE in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of AMERISAFE from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday.

AMERISAFE 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.