MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC Invests $232,000 in AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF)

MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 4,970 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $232,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in shares of AMERISAFE by 0.9% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 46,287 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,318,000 after acquiring an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in shares of AMERISAFE by 28.4% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 6,320 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $316,000 after acquiring an additional 1,396 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio boosted its holdings in AMERISAFE by 4.5% in the third quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 13,900 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $695,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC purchased a new stake in AMERISAFE in the third quarter worth approximately $270,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC boosted its holdings in AMERISAFE by 4.9% in the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 6,178 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $309,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. 97.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AMERISAFE Stock Performance

Shares of AMERISAFE stock traded up $0.41 on Monday, hitting $47.53. 67,643 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 133,044. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $49.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $49.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $909.72 million, a PE ratio of 14.68 and a beta of 0.35. AMERISAFE, Inc. has a 1 year low of $44.61 and a 1 year high of $56.84.

AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The insurance provider reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.03. AMERISAFE had a net margin of 19.97% and a return on equity of 16.76%. The company had revenue of $80.49 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $75.22 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.83 EPS. On average, analysts expect that AMERISAFE, Inc. will post 2.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AMERISAFE Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 21st. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. AMERISAFE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMSF has been the topic of several research reports. TheStreet upgraded shares of AMERISAFE from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of AMERISAFE in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of AMERISAFE from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th.

AMERISAFE 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.