AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF) Shares Down 7.6%

AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF) shares fell 7.6% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $46.76 and last traded at $47.04. 19,599 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 129,783 shares. The stock had previously closed at $50.92.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMSF has been the topic of several research reports. TheStreet raised AMERISAFE from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of AMERISAFE in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered AMERISAFE from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday.

AMERISAFE Price Performance

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $50.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.52. The stock has a market cap of $872.02 million, a P/E ratio of 14.19 and a beta of 0.32.

AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The insurance provider reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $73.88 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $75.15 million. AMERISAFE had a return on equity of 16.48% and a net margin of 19.97%. Analysts forecast that AMERISAFE, Inc. will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

AMERISAFE Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.25%. AMERISAFE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.11%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AMSF. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in AMERISAFE during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,962,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in AMERISAFE by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,680 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $406,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new stake in AMERISAFE during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,126,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund acquired a new stake in AMERISAFE during the 3rd quarter valued at $533,000. Finally, Dark Forest Capital Management LP raised its stake in AMERISAFE by 81.0% during the 3rd quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 10,640 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $533,000 after purchasing an additional 4,763 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.41% of the company’s stock.

About AMERISAFE

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.