Trexquant Investment LP Cuts Stock Holdings in AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF)

Trexquant Investment LP lowered its stake in AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF) by 58.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,777 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 9,565 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP’s holdings in AMERISAFE were worth $349,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AMSF. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in AMERISAFE by 18.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 536,836 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $27,675,000 after purchasing an additional 83,297 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AMERISAFE in the fourth quarter worth $359,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in AMERISAFE during the 4th quarter valued at $2,881,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in AMERISAFE by 132.2% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 80,642 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,156,000 after buying an additional 45,916 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd boosted its position in AMERISAFE by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 21,859 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,127,000 after buying an additional 690 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.41% of the company’s stock.

AMERISAFE Trading Down 0.8 %

AMSF stock opened at $48.41 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $50.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $52.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $922.21 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.13 and a beta of 0.34. AMERISAFE, Inc. has a 12-month low of $41.97 and a 12-month high of $60.24.

AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The insurance provider reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.07. AMERISAFE had a return on equity of 16.50% and a net margin of 19.49%. The company had revenue of $73.51 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $77.37 million. Equities analysts predict that AMERISAFE, Inc. will post 2.45 EPS for the current year.

AMERISAFE Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.22%. AMERISAFE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.98%.

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.