AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF) Trading 5% Higher After Dividend Announcement

AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF) rose 5% on Friday following a dividend announcement from the company. The company traded as high as $46.72 and last traded at $45.74. Approximately 15,433 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 102,891 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.58.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th will be paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.37%. AMERISAFE’s payout ratio is 62.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMSF has been the topic of several recent research reports. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $65.00 price target on shares of AMERISAFE in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen raised AMERISAFE from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday.

AMERISAFE Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $880.68 million, a PE ratio of 17.51 and a beta of 0.40. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $44.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.20.

AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The insurance provider reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by ($0.02). AMERISAFE had a return on equity of 16.36% and a net margin of 16.46%. The company had revenue of $79.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $77.30 million. On average, equities analysts expect that AMERISAFE, Inc. will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AMERISAFE

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AMSF. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in shares of AMERISAFE by 170.5% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 779 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 491 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AMERISAFE in the fourth quarter worth $43,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of AMERISAFE by 301.6% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,554 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $82,000 after acquiring an additional 1,167 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of AMERISAFE by 19.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,600 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $84,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in shares of AMERISAFE in the fourth quarter worth $180,000. 97.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.