AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF) Short Interest Up 46.6% in December

AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 253,200 shares, a growth of 46.6% from the December 15th total of 172,700 shares. Currently, 1.4% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 118,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.1 days.

AMERISAFE Stock Performance

Shares of AMSF stock opened at $51.77 on Thursday. AMERISAFE has a fifty-two week low of $41.97 and a fifty-two week high of $60.24. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $54.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $50.82. The company has a market cap of $986.22 million, a PE ratio of 16.18 and a beta of 0.35.

AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The insurance provider reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.02. AMERISAFE had a net margin of 19.49% and a return on equity of 16.50%. The firm had revenue of $78.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $75.38 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.61 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that AMERISAFE will post 2.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AMERISAFE Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a dividend of $3.37 per share. This represents a $13.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 26.04%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. This is a boost from AMERISAFE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. AMERISAFE’s payout ratio is presently 46.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on AMSF. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of AMERISAFE in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of AMERISAFE from $48.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado increased its holdings in AMERISAFE by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 315,409 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $13,843,000 after purchasing an additional 15,196 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of AMERISAFE by 8.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 811,561 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $39,223,000 after purchasing an additional 63,638 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of AMERISAFE by 365.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 33,219 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,605,000 after buying an additional 26,084 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in AMERISAFE by 70.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 41,299 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,996,000 after buying an additional 17,084 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in AMERISAFE in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $591,000. 97.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.