Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Lowers Stock Position in AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System reduced its position in AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF) by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 9,200 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 400 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in AMERISAFE were worth $445,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in AMERISAFE by 8.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,472,739 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $73,887,000 after acquiring an additional 115,676 shares during the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC increased its position in AMERISAFE by 12.8% during the 1st quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 855,916 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $42,941,000 after purchasing an additional 97,280 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its holdings in AMERISAFE by 13.5% in the second quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 701,806 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $30,802,000 after buying an additional 83,438 shares during the period. M&G Plc acquired a new position in AMERISAFE during the first quarter valued at approximately $23,251,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado lifted its position in AMERISAFE by 5.1% during the second quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 315,409 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $13,843,000 after buying an additional 15,196 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.41% of the company’s stock.

AMERISAFE Stock Up 7.4 %

AMSF opened at $59.03 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.45 and a beta of 0.33. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $50.31 and its 200-day moving average is $47.45. AMERISAFE, Inc. has a 52-week low of $41.97 and a 52-week high of $59.50.

AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The insurance provider reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $78.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $75.38 million. AMERISAFE had a net margin of 19.49% and a return on equity of 16.50%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.61 EPS. Equities analysts expect that AMERISAFE, Inc. will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AMERISAFE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $3.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $13.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 22.84%. This is an increase from AMERISAFE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. AMERISAFE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AMSF shares. StockNews.com raised shares of AMERISAFE from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of AMERISAFE in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on AMERISAFE from $48.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th.

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.