AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF) Shares Sold by M&G Plc

M&G Plc reduced its stake in AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF) by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 452,692 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 12,327 shares during the quarter. M&G Plc owned 2.37% of AMERISAFE worth $19,918,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. EntryPoint Capital LLC grew its position in AMERISAFE by 22.0% during the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 2,082 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $104,000 after purchasing an additional 376 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in AMERISAFE during the first quarter valued at $154,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in shares of AMERISAFE by 26.9% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,901 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $182,000 after acquiring an additional 828 shares during the last quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in AMERISAFE in the fourth quarter worth about $232,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in AMERISAFE in the 1st quarter valued at about $253,000. 97.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

AMERISAFE Price Performance

AMSF stock opened at $46.14 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $882.89 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.37 and a beta of 0.33. AMERISAFE, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $41.97 and a fifty-two week high of $54.80. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $45.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.47.

AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF) last released 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 period last year, the business earned $0.73 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that AMERISAFE, Inc. will post 2.4 EPS for the current year.

AMERISAFE Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be paid a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.21%. AMERISAFE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling at AMERISAFE

In other AMERISAFE news, Director Michael J. Brown acquired 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $43.52 per share, with a total value of $43,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,055 shares in the company, valued at $437,593.60. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.45% 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.