AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the five brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has given a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $44.00.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AMSF. Truist Financial reduced their target price on AMERISAFE from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings downgraded AMERISAFE from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Zacks Research lowered AMERISAFE from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised AMERISAFE from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AMERISAFE

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its stake in shares of AMERISAFE by 3,741.0% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 16,397,229 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $62,982,000 after acquiring an additional 15,970,329 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in AMERISAFE in the second quarter valued at about $122,167,000. Neuberger Berman Group LLC raised its position in AMERISAFE by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 1,800,952 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $69,175,000 after purchasing an additional 6,175 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AMERISAFE by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 843,539 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $32,400,000 after purchasing an additional 41,496 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AMERISAFE by 55.4% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 696,095 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,737,000 after purchasing an additional 248,105 shares in the last quarter. 97.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AMERISAFE Stock Up 1.2%

NASDAQ:AMSF opened at $26.01 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $482.23 million, a P/E ratio of 10.49 and a beta of 0.24. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $31.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.57. AMERISAFE has a fifty-two week low of $25.65 and a fifty-two week high of $47.86.

AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The insurance provider reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $91.97 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $85.09 million. AMERISAFE had a net margin of 14.00% and a return on equity of 14.87%. Research analysts forecast that AMERISAFE will post 1.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AMERISAFE Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a dividend of $0.41 per share. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. AMERISAFE’s payout ratio is 66.13%.

About AMERISAFE

Amerisafe, Inc (NASDAQ: AMSF) is a specialty provider of workers’ compensation insurance products and services in the United States. The company focuses on underwriting and managing workers’ compensation policies for small to mid-sized public and private businesses, particularly in higher-hazard industries such as retail, manufacturing, distribution and wholesale. Through its network of independent agents, Amerisafe delivers tailored coverage solutions that combine robust risk management support with loss prevention programs designed to enhance workplace safety.

In addition to core insurance offerings, Amerisafe provides extensive risk control resources, including safety training, on-site consultations and claims management services.