AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF) Shares Sold by New South Capital Management Inc.

New South Capital Management Inc. lowered its position in AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF) by 2.7% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 201,129 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 5,667 shares during the period. New South Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in AMERISAFE were worth $8,828,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AMSF. M&G Plc acquired a new stake in AMERISAFE during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $23,251,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in AMERISAFE by 8.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,472,739 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $73,887,000 after purchasing an additional 115,676 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its holdings in AMERISAFE by 18.4% in the fourth quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 678,321 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $31,732,000 after purchasing an additional 105,414 shares during the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in AMERISAFE by 12.8% in the first quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 855,916 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $42,941,000 after purchasing an additional 97,280 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. grew its position in AMERISAFE by 70.3% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 178,458 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $8,348,000 after purchasing an additional 73,638 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMSF has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com raised AMERISAFE from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $65.00 price target on shares of AMERISAFE in a report on Tuesday, July 30th.

AMERISAFE Stock Performance

AMSF opened at $48.52 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $47.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $47.40. AMERISAFE, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $41.97 and a fifty-two week high of $54.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $928.43 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.12 and a beta of 0.34.

AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The insurance provider reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.03). AMERISAFE had a return on equity of 16.38% and a net margin of 18.46%. The business had revenue of $75.83 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $74.20 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.73 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that AMERISAFE, Inc. will post 2.4 earnings per share for the current year.

AMERISAFE Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be given a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.05%. AMERISAFE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.11%.

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.