Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Acquires 12,027 Shares of AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF) by 75.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,904 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 12,027 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned about 0.15% of AMERISAFE worth $1,348,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AMSF. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AMERISAFE by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,472,739 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $73,887,000 after acquiring an additional 115,676 shares during the last quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in AMERISAFE by 136.0% during the 2nd quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC now owns 147,654 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,481,000 after purchasing an additional 85,089 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of AMERISAFE by 13.5% in the second quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 701,806 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $30,802,000 after purchasing an additional 83,438 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of AMERISAFE by 70.4% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 114,088 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $5,514,000 after purchasing an additional 47,131 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in shares of AMERISAFE by 238.6% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 61,946 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,719,000 after buying an additional 43,649 shares during the last quarter. 97.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of AMERISAFE in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of AMERISAFE from $48.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded AMERISAFE from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th.

AMERISAFE Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMSF opened at $59.02 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.44 and a beta of 0.33. The company’s 50-day moving average is $53.61 and its 200 day moving average is $48.78. AMERISAFE, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $41.97 and a fifty-two week high of $60.24.

AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The insurance provider reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $75.38 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.61 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that AMERISAFE, Inc. will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current year.

AMERISAFE Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $13.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 22.84%. AMERISAFE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.25%.

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.