AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on AMSF. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of AMERISAFE from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of AMERISAFE from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of AMERISAFE from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $44.00.

AMERISAFE Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ AMSF opened at $23.76 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $26.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.43. AMERISAFE has a 52-week low of $23.20 and a 52-week high of $44.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $440.51 million, a P/E ratio of 9.58 and a beta of 0.23.

AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The insurance provider reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.08). AMERISAFE had a return on equity of 14.87% and a net margin of 14.00%.The firm had revenue of $91.97 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $85.09 million. On average, analysts anticipate that AMERISAFE will post 1.97 EPS for the current year.

AMERISAFE Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th were issued a $0.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.9%. AMERISAFE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.13%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in AMERISAFE in the second quarter worth $411,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new stake in AMERISAFE in the second quarter valued at $50,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AMERISAFE by 56.2% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 27,654 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $936,000 after acquiring an additional 9,949 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in shares of AMERISAFE by 317.8% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 855 shares during the period. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital acquired a new position in shares of AMERISAFE during the second quarter valued at $328,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.41% of the company’s stock.

AMERISAFE Company Profile

AMERISAFE, Inc (NASDAQ: AMSF) is a specialty workers’ compensation insurance company headquartered in DeRidder, Louisiana. Through its insurance subsidiaries, the company provides workers’ compensation coverage to small and mid-sized employers whose operations involve relatively high workplace risks.

The company focuses on industries such as construction, trucking, logging, agriculture, manufacturing, oil and gas, and other hazardous occupations. Its services include workers’ compensation underwriting, claims administration, workplace safety and loss-control services, and premium auditing.

AMERISAFE primarily serves employers across the southeastern and other selected regions of the United States.