AXQ Capital LP Purchases New Position in AMERISAFE, Inc. $AMSF

AXQ Capital LP purchased a new stake in AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 5,524 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $242,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AMSF. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in AMERISAFE by 170.5% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 779 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 491 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in AMERISAFE by 301.6% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,554 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 1,167 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Asset Planning Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AMERISAFE during the second quarter valued at about $113,000. R Squared Ltd grew its position in shares of AMERISAFE by 144.2% during the 1st quarter. R Squared Ltd now owns 4,696 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $247,000 after purchasing an additional 2,773 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its holdings in shares of AMERISAFE by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 4,888 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $214,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. 97.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AMERISAFE Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMSF opened at $40.91 on Wednesday. AMERISAFE, Inc. has a one year low of $39.09 and a one year high of $59.51. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $41.69 and a 200 day moving average of $44.02. The company has a market capitalization of $774.18 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.67 and a beta of 0.33.

AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The insurance provider reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55. AMERISAFE had a net margin of 16.12% and a return on equity of 17.16%. The firm had revenue of $71.29 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $78.29 million. On average, equities analysts predict that AMERISAFE, Inc. will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AMERISAFE Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a special dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 12th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a yield of 394.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. AMERISAFE’s payout ratio is 59.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AMERISAFE news, CFO Anastasios Omiridis sold 1,247 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.21, for a total transaction of $50,141.87. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 2,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $102,093.19. The trade was a 32.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.61% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. JMP Securities dropped their price target on AMERISAFE from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of AMERISAFE in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of AMERISAFE in a research note on Monday. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered AMERISAFE from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, AMERISAFE has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.00.

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.