AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF) Hits New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $58.77 and last traded at $58.40, with a volume of 7957 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $54.95.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of AMERISAFE from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of AMERISAFE from $48.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th.

AMERISAFE Trading Up 7.4 %

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $50.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $47.37. The firm has a market cap of $1.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.17 and a beta of 0.33.

AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The insurance provider reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.02. AMERISAFE had a net margin of 19.49% and a return on equity of 16.50%. The company had revenue of $78.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $75.38 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.61 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that AMERISAFE, Inc. will post 2.45 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $3.37 per share. This represents a $13.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 22.84%. This is a boost from AMERISAFE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. AMERISAFE’s payout ratio is presently 46.25%.

Institutional Trading of AMERISAFE

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AMSF. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in AMERISAFE during the third quarter valued at $2,107,000. M&G PLC increased its holdings in shares of AMERISAFE by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. M&G PLC now owns 461,070 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $22,131,000 after purchasing an additional 8,378 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of AMERISAFE by 11.8% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 11,663 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $564,000 after purchasing an additional 1,229 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of AMERISAFE by 70.4% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 114,088 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $5,514,000 after purchasing an additional 47,131 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Planning grew its position in AMERISAFE by 93.3% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 15,781 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $763,000 after purchasing an additional 7,615 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.41% of the company’s stock.

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.