AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF) by 4.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 90,017 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 4,619 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.47% of AMERISAFE worth $4,351,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AMSF. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AMERISAFE during the third quarter valued at $28,000. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in AMERISAFE by 1,028.4% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 756 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 689 shares in the last quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of AMERISAFE by 14.4% during the 2nd quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 76,870 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 9,672 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of AMERISAFE by 97.1% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 822 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of AMERISAFE in the second quarter valued at approximately $100,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.41% of the company’s stock.

AMERISAFE Price Performance

Shares of AMSF stock opened at $51.24 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $55.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $50.32. AMERISAFE, Inc. has a 1-year low of $41.97 and a 1-year high of $60.24. The firm has a market cap of $976.12 million, a P/E ratio of 16.01 and a beta of 0.33.

AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The insurance provider reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.02. The firm 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 quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.61 earnings per share. Analysts expect that AMERISAFE, Inc. will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AMERISAFE Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were given a $3.37 dividend. This is a positive change from AMERISAFE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $13.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 26.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. AMERISAFE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.