WINTON GROUP Ltd Increases Holdings in AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF)

WINTON GROUP Ltd grew its holdings in AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 21,859 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 690 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd’s holdings in AMERISAFE were worth $1,127,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Royce & Associates LP purchased a new position in shares of AMERISAFE in the 4th quarter valued at $15,738,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AMERISAFE during the fourth quarter worth about $9,708,000. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of AMERISAFE by 8.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 811,561 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $39,223,000 after purchasing an additional 63,638 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AMERISAFE by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,393,807 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $71,837,000 after purchasing an additional 50,441 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of AMERISAFE by 365.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 33,219 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,605,000 after purchasing an additional 26,084 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.41% of the company’s stock.

AMERISAFE Price Performance

Shares of AMERISAFE stock opened at $52.67 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $50.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.02. AMERISAFE, Inc. has a 12 month low of $41.97 and a 12 month high of $60.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.46 and a beta of 0.33.

AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The insurance provider reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $73.51 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $77.37 million. AMERISAFE had a net margin of 19.49% and a return on equity of 16.50%. Analysts anticipate that AMERISAFE, Inc. will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current year.

AMERISAFE Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. AMERISAFE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.98%.

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.