AMERISAFE, Inc. $AMSF Shares Sold by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank lessened its stake in shares of AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF) by 1.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 36,900 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 500 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.19% of AMERISAFE worth $1,939,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AMSF. Royce & Associates LP grew its holdings in AMERISAFE by 29.6% during the 1st quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 395,756 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $20,797,000 after buying an additional 90,395 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in AMERISAFE by 6,160.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 84,080 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,418,000 after buying an additional 82,737 shares during the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its holdings in AMERISAFE by 13.2% during the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 684,558 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $35,974,000 after buying an additional 79,750 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in AMERISAFE by 92.1% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 161,815 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $8,340,000 after buying an additional 77,582 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in AMERISAFE by 9.3% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 723,562 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $38,023,000 after buying an additional 61,767 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.41% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMSF has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Truist Financial lowered their target price on AMERISAFE from $54.00 to $50.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded AMERISAFE from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, August 17th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of AMERISAFE in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.50.

AMERISAFE Stock Up 1.4%

AMSF stock opened at $46.89 on Friday. AMERISAFE, Inc. has a 52-week low of $42.48 and a 52-week high of $60.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $890.44 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.76 and a beta of 0.39. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $44.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.49.

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

AMERISAFE Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th will be issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. AMERISAFE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.09%.

AMERISAFE Company 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.