Short Interest in AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF) Grows By 46.6%

AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 253,200 shares, an increase of 46.6% from the December 15th total of 172,700 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 118,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.1 days. Currently, 1.4% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AMERISAFE

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AMSF. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp raised its stake in AMERISAFE by 65.8% during the 2nd quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 27,817 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,221,000 after buying an additional 11,040 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of AMERISAFE by 13.0% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 67,945 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,982,000 after purchasing an additional 7,809 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new position in shares of AMERISAFE in the 2nd quarter worth $918,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in AMERISAFE by 10.6% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 190,600 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $8,365,000 after purchasing an additional 18,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of AMERISAFE by 12.3% in the second quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 8,042 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $353,000 after buying an additional 880 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMSF has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of AMERISAFE in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Truist Financial increased their target price on AMERISAFE from $48.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th.

AMERISAFE Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMSF traded up $0.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $51.51. 13,712 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 72,804. The firm has a market capitalization of $981.27 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.10 and a beta of 0.35. AMERISAFE has a twelve month low of $41.97 and a twelve month high of $60.24. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $54.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $50.83.

AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF) last released its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $78.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $75.38 million. AMERISAFE had a return on equity of 16.50% and a net margin of 19.49%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.61 EPS. Analysts predict that AMERISAFE will post 2.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AMERISAFE Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were 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 yield of 26.17%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. AMERISAFE’s payout ratio is 46.25%.

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.