Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Sells 24,071 Shares of AMERISAFE, Inc. $AMSF

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio cut its holdings in AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF) by 37.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 39,546 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 24,071 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio owned approximately 0.21% of AMERISAFE worth $1,729,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of AMERISAFE by 301.6% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,554 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $82,000 after acquiring an additional 1,167 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of AMERISAFE by 19.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,600 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $84,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd increased its position in shares of AMERISAFE by 144.2% in the first 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 period. Two Sigma Advisers LP purchased a new position in shares of AMERISAFE in the fourth quarter valued at about $283,000. Finally, MQS Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of AMERISAFE in the first quarter valued at about $296,000. 97.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of AMERISAFE from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 17th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of AMERISAFE from $54.00 to $50.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AMERISAFE in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $57.50.

AMERISAFE Stock Performance

Shares of AMSF opened at $43.13 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $819.04 million, a PE ratio of 16.34 and a beta of 0.32. AMERISAFE, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $42.48 and a fifty-two week high of $60.24. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $44.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $46.33.

AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). The business had revenue of $79.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $77.30 million. AMERISAFE had a return on equity of 16.54% and a net margin of 16.46%. Equities research analysts predict that AMERISAFE, Inc. will post 2.45 EPS for the current year.

AMERISAFE Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 12th were issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 12th. AMERISAFE’s dividend payout ratio is 59.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AMERISAFE news, CFO Anastasios Omiridis sold 1,343 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 2,253 shares in the company, valued at approximately $100,821.75. This represents a 37.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 1.61% of the company’s stock.

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.