Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Grows Stock Position in AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF)

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its holdings in AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF) by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 19,008 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 645 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned approximately 0.10% of AMERISAFE worth $919,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in AMERISAFE by 5.8% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,852 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $695,000 after purchasing an additional 755 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of AMERISAFE by 16.7% in the 2nd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 8,591 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $377,000 after buying an additional 1,230 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in AMERISAFE by 90.6% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 66,957 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,939,000 after acquiring an additional 31,829 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in AMERISAFE by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 283,307 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $12,434,000 after acquiring an additional 3,719 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in AMERISAFE by 37.2% in the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 6,413 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $281,000 after acquiring an additional 1,739 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.41% of the company’s stock.

AMERISAFE Trading Down 6.5 %

AMSF stock opened at $55.04 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $54.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $49.22. The company has a market capitalization of $1.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.20 and a beta of 0.33. AMERISAFE, Inc. has a twelve month low of $41.97 and a twelve month high of $60.24.

AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The insurance provider reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $78.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $75.38 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.61 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that AMERISAFE, Inc. will post 2.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AMERISAFE Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $3.37 dividend. This is an increase from AMERISAFE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $13.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 24.49%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. AMERISAFE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.