AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF) Position Reduced by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund decreased its position in shares of AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF) by 9.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,860 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 1,044 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in AMERISAFE were worth $518,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AMERISAFE in the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of AMERISAFE by 19.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,600 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $84,000 after buying an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in shares of AMERISAFE in the fourth quarter valued at $180,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of AMERISAFE by 336.1% in the fourth quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 3,925 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $202,000 after buying an additional 3,025 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of AMERISAFE in the fourth quarter valued at $207,000. Institutional investors own 97.41% of the company’s stock.

AMERISAFE Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMSF opened at $43.83 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $834.96 million, a P/E ratio of 17.67 and a beta of 0.40. AMERISAFE, Inc. has a 1 year low of $42.48 and a 1 year high of $60.24. The business’s fifty day moving average is $45.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.01.

AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The insurance provider reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.01. AMERISAFE had a return on equity of 16.41% and a net margin of 15.76%. The company had revenue of $83.78 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $76.66 million. On average, research analysts forecast that AMERISAFE, Inc. will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current year.

AMERISAFE Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. AMERISAFE’s payout ratio is 62.90%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $65.00 price target on shares of AMERISAFE in a report on Wednesday, April 30th.

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.