GW&K Investment Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF)

GW&K Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF) by 7.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 406,058 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 34,207 shares during the period. GW&K Investment Management LLC owned about 2.12% of AMERISAFE worth $18,996,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in AMERISAFE by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,398,263 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $65,411,000 after purchasing an additional 37,048 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in AMERISAFE by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 155,654 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $7,281,000 after acquiring an additional 2,856 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in AMERISAFE by 10.4% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 154,569 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $7,739,000 after acquiring an additional 14,572 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in AMERISAFE by 0.4% in the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 104,820 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $5,248,000 after acquiring an additional 465 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Foundry Partners LLC grew its holdings in AMERISAFE by 16.4% during the 4th quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 87,065 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,073,000 after acquiring an additional 12,280 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.41% of the company’s stock.

AMERISAFE Trading Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ:AMSF traded up $0.18 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $45.45. 6,072 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 125,599. AMERISAFE, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $44.61 and a fifty-two week high of $56.54. The company has a market capitalization of $869.91 million, a PE ratio of 14.10 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $48.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $48.87.

AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The insurance provider reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.03. AMERISAFE had a return on equity of 16.76% and a net margin of 19.97%. The business 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 firm earned $0.83 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that AMERISAFE, Inc. will post 2.45 EPS for the current year.

AMERISAFE Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. AMERISAFE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AMSF shares. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of AMERISAFE in a report on Monday, April 15th. TheStreet raised AMERISAFE from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded AMERISAFE from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 14th.

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.