AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 151,900 shares, a decline of 26.8% from the November 15th total of 207,600 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 122,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.2 days. Currently, 0.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

AMERISAFE Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AMSF opened at $53.70 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.78 and a beta of 0.33. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $54.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $49.41. AMERISAFE has a 12-month low of $41.97 and a 12-month high of $60.24.

AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The insurance provider reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.02. AMERISAFE had a net margin of 19.49% and a return on equity of 16.50%. The business had revenue of $78.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $75.38 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.61 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that AMERISAFE will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AMERISAFE Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were given a $3.37 dividend. This is a positive change from AMERISAFE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $13.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 25.10%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. AMERISAFE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.25%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Granite Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of AMERISAFE by 136.0% during the 2nd quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC now owns 147,654 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,481,000 after purchasing an additional 85,089 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its position in shares of AMERISAFE by 13.5% in the 2nd quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 701,806 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $30,802,000 after purchasing an additional 83,438 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in AMERISAFE by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 811,561 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $39,223,000 after acquiring an additional 63,638 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in AMERISAFE by 70.4% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 114,088 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $5,514,000 after buying an additional 47,131 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of AMERISAFE by 238.6% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 61,946 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,719,000 after acquiring an additional 43,649 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMSF has been the topic of several analyst reports. Truist Financial raised their price target 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. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of AMERISAFE in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th.

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.