AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF) Short Interest Update

AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 208,700 shares, a growth of 17.1% from the October 15th total of 178,200 shares. Currently, 1.1% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 111,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.9 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on AMSF shares. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $65.00 target price on shares of AMERISAFE in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of AMERISAFE from $48.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of AMERISAFE from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th.

AMERISAFE Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMSF traded down $0.12 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $58.17. 24,234 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 123,706. The company’s 50 day moving average is $51.24 and its 200 day moving average is $47.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.11 billion, a PE ratio of 18.22 and a beta of 0.33. AMERISAFE has a one year low of $41.97 and a one year high of $60.24.

AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The insurance provider reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $78.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $75.38 million. AMERISAFE had a net margin of 19.49% and a return on equity of 16.50%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.61 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that AMERISAFE will post 2.45 EPS for the current year.

AMERISAFE Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a dividend of $3.37 per share. This is an increase from AMERISAFE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $13.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 23.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. AMERISAFE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.25%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AMERISAFE

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AMSF. M&G Plc bought a new stake in shares of AMERISAFE in the 1st quarter valued at about $23,251,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in AMERISAFE by 8.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,472,739 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $73,887,000 after purchasing an additional 115,676 shares in the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in AMERISAFE by 12.8% in the first quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 855,916 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $42,941,000 after purchasing an additional 97,280 shares during the last quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC grew its position in shares of AMERISAFE by 136.0% in the 2nd quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC now owns 147,654 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,481,000 after buying an additional 85,089 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of AMERISAFE by 13.5% during the 2nd quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 701,806 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $30,802,000 after acquiring an additional 83,438 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.41% 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.