Isthmus Partners LLC Raises Position in AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF)

Isthmus Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF) by 14.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 76,870 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,672 shares during the period. Isthmus Partners LLC owned 0.40% of AMERISAFE worth $34,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. M&G Plc purchased a new stake in AMERISAFE during the 1st quarter worth approximately $23,251,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in AMERISAFE by 8.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,472,739 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $73,887,000 after buying an additional 115,676 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lifted its position in AMERISAFE by 18.4% in the fourth quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 678,321 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $31,732,000 after purchasing an additional 105,414 shares during the period. Champlain Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in AMERISAFE by 12.8% during the first quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 855,916 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $42,941,000 after buying an additional 97,280 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AMERISAFE by 70.3% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 178,458 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $8,348,000 after purchasing an additional 73,638 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMSF has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of AMERISAFE in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. StockNews.com raised AMERISAFE from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th.

AMERISAFE Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMSF traded down $0.10 on Friday, hitting $48.52. The stock had a trading volume of 63,096 shares, compared to its average volume of 125,033. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $47.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.41. AMERISAFE, Inc. has a twelve month low of $41.97 and a twelve month high of $54.80. The company has a market capitalization of $928.43 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.12 and a beta of 0.33.

AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 29th. The insurance provider reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.61 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $75.83 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $74.20 million. AMERISAFE had a net margin of 18.46% and a return on equity of 16.38%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.73 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that AMERISAFE, Inc. will post 2.4 EPS for the current year.

AMERISAFE Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.05%. AMERISAFE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.11%.

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.