AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF) Lowered to “Sell” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note released on Friday.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. JMP Securities reissued a market outperform rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of AMERISAFE in a report on Monday, April 15th. TheStreet upgraded shares of AMERISAFE from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th.

AMERISAFE Price Performance

Shares of AMSF opened at $44.98 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $50.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $49.46. AMERISAFE has a one year low of $44.88 and a one year high of $57.06. The company has a market cap of $860.92 million, a P/E ratio of 14.01 and a beta of 0.32.

AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The insurance provider reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.03. AMERISAFE had a return on equity of 16.76% and a net margin of 19.97%. The company had revenue of $80.49 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $75.22 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.83 EPS. On average, analysts expect that AMERISAFE will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AMERISAFE Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 21st. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.29%. AMERISAFE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.11%.

Institutional Trading of AMERISAFE

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AMSF. Gladius Capital Management LP bought a new position in AMERISAFE in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in AMERISAFE by 26.9% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,901 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $182,000 after acquiring an additional 828 shares during the period. Values First Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of AMERISAFE by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. now owns 4,782 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $224,000 after acquiring an additional 689 shares during the last quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of AMERISAFE during the fourth quarter worth $232,000. Finally, Advisor Partners II LLC bought a new stake in shares of AMERISAFE in the third quarter worth $270,000. 97.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.