The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 434 Shares of AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company trimmed its position in AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF) by 6.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,766 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 434 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in AMERISAFE were worth $327,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of AMERISAFE by 90.6% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 66,957 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,939,000 after acquiring an additional 31,829 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in AMERISAFE by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 283,307 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $12,434,000 after purchasing an additional 3,719 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in AMERISAFE by 37.2% during the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 6,413 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $281,000 after purchasing an additional 1,739 shares during the period. Isthmus Partners LLC grew its position in shares of AMERISAFE by 14.4% in the 2nd quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 76,870 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 9,672 shares during the period. Finally, Quest Partners LLC grew its position in shares of AMERISAFE by 66.9% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 15,017 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $659,000 after buying an additional 6,020 shares during the period. 97.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of AMERISAFE from $48.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of AMERISAFE in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th.

AMERISAFE Price Performance

Shares of AMSF opened at $53.70 on Monday. AMERISAFE, Inc. has a 1 year low of $41.97 and a 1 year high of $60.24. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $55.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $49.51. The firm has a market cap of $1.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.78 and a beta of 0.33.

AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The insurance provider reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $78.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $75.38 million. AMERISAFE had a net margin of 19.49% and a return on equity of 16.50%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.61 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AMERISAFE, Inc. will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current year.

AMERISAFE Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were given a $3.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. This is an increase from AMERISAFE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $13.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 25.10%. AMERISAFE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.25%.

AMERISAFE 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.