AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Still a Buy?

Shares of AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF) saw an uptick in trading volume on Thursday . 150,700 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 24% from the previous session’s volume of 199,429 shares.The stock last traded at $30.8650 and had previously closed at $30.15.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of AMERISAFE from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Citizens Jmp cut their price objective on shares of AMERISAFE from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 13th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of AMERISAFE from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price objective on AMERISAFE from $36.00 to $34.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AMERISAFE has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $44.67.

AMERISAFE Stock Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $31.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $35.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $572.59 million, a P/E ratio of 12.60 and a beta of 0.24.

AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The insurance provider reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $80.09 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.49 million. AMERISAFE had a net margin of 14.27% and a return on equity of 15.34%. Sell-side analysts predict that AMERISAFE, Inc. will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

AMERISAFE Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.41 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 12th. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.4%. AMERISAFE’s payout ratio is presently 67.49%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AMSF. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AMERISAFE by 5,714.3% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 814 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in AMERISAFE by 6.7% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 623,697 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $20,788,000 after buying an additional 39,168 shares during the period. Amundi bought a new position in shares of AMERISAFE during the first quarter worth $292,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in AMERISAFE by 19.3% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 261,375 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $8,712,000 after acquiring an additional 42,375 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in AMERISAFE by 103.3% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 38,088 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,269,000 after purchasing an additional 19,352 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.41% of the company’s stock.

About AMERISAFE

Amerisafe, Inc (NASDAQ: AMSF) is a specialty provider of workers’ compensation insurance products and services in the United States. The company focuses on underwriting and managing workers’ compensation policies for small to mid-sized public and private businesses, particularly in higher-hazard industries such as retail, manufacturing, distribution and wholesale. Through its network of independent agents, Amerisafe delivers tailored coverage solutions that combine robust risk management support with loss prevention programs designed to enhance workplace safety.

In addition to core insurance offerings, Amerisafe provides extensive risk control resources, including safety training, on-site consultations and claims management services.