Sei Investments Co. Boosts Stock Position in AMERISAFE, Inc. $AMSF

Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in shares of AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF) by 125.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 138,584 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 76,989 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in AMERISAFE were worth $4,619,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its stake in shares of AMERISAFE by 34.7% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 156,059 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $5,994,000 after acquiring an additional 40,164 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP increased its holdings in shares of AMERISAFE by 10.0% during the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 611,371 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $23,483,000 after acquiring an additional 55,750 shares in the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its position in shares of AMERISAFE by 3,741.0% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 16,397,229 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $62,982,000 after purchasing an additional 15,970,329 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd raised its position in shares of AMERISAFE by 51.0% in the 1st quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 53,787 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,793,000 after purchasing an additional 18,175 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in AMERISAFE by 17.3% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 163,248 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,270,000 after purchasing an additional 24,124 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on AMSF. Zacks Research lowered shares of AMERISAFE from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of AMERISAFE from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Citizens Jmp decreased their price objective on shares of AMERISAFE from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 13th. Wall Street Zen raised AMERISAFE from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial cut their target price on AMERISAFE from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $44.00.

AMERISAFE Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ AMSF opened at $29.84 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $32.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.39. The company has a market cap of $553.23 million, a PE ratio of 12.03 and a beta of 0.24. AMERISAFE, Inc. has a 52-week low of $28.94 and a 52-week high of $47.86.

AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The insurance provider reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.08). AMERISAFE had a net margin of 14.00% and a return on equity of 14.87%. The company had revenue of $91.97 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $85.09 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that AMERISAFE, Inc. will post 1.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AMERISAFE Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. AMERISAFE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.13%.

AMERISAFE Profile

Amerisafe, Inc (NASDAQ: AMSF) is a specialty provider of workers’ compensation insurance products and services in the United States. The company focuses on underwriting and managing workers’ compensation policies for small to mid-sized public and private businesses, particularly in higher-hazard industries such as retail, manufacturing, distribution and wholesale. Through its network of independent agents, Amerisafe delivers tailored coverage solutions that combine robust risk management support with loss prevention programs designed to enhance workplace safety.

In addition to core insurance offerings, Amerisafe provides extensive risk control resources, including safety training, on-site consultations and claims management services.