AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF) Shares Acquired by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,967 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 314 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.06% of AMERISAFE worth $513,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in AMERISAFE by 10.4% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 154,569 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $7,739,000 after acquiring an additional 14,572 shares during the period. Eagle Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of AMERISAFE by 0.4% in the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 104,820 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $5,248,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares during the period. Foundry Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of AMERISAFE by 16.4% during the fourth quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 87,065 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,073,000 after purchasing an additional 12,280 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of AMERISAFE by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 61,653 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,087,000 after purchasing an additional 2,672 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in AMERISAFE by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 46,287 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,318,000 after buying an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. 97.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on AMSF shares. StockNews.com cut AMERISAFE from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. TheStreet upgraded AMERISAFE from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $65.00 target price on shares of AMERISAFE in a report on Monday, April 15th.

AMERISAFE Price Performance

AMSF stock opened at $45.60 on Wednesday. AMERISAFE, Inc. has a 1 year low of $44.61 and a 1 year high of $57.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $872.78 million, a PE ratio of 14.21 and a beta of 0.32. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $49.42.

AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The insurance provider reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.03. AMERISAFE had a return on equity of 16.76% and a net margin of 19.97%. The company had revenue of $80.49 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $75.22 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.83 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that AMERISAFE, Inc. will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

AMERISAFE Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. AMERISAFE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.11%.

AMERISAFE Company 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.