Barclays PLC Has $1.61 Million Stock Holdings in AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF)

Barclays PLC raised its stake in AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF) by 365.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,219 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 26,084 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned about 0.17% of AMERISAFE worth $1,605,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMSF. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AMERISAFE during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in AMERISAFE by 1,028.4% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 756 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 689 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in AMERISAFE by 97.1% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 822 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of AMERISAFE during the second quarter worth $100,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of AMERISAFE by 6.9% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 5,882 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $284,000 after acquiring an additional 381 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.41% of the company’s stock.

AMERISAFE Trading Down 1.3 %

NASDAQ AMSF opened at $48.89 on Friday. AMERISAFE, Inc. has a 12 month low of $41.97 and a 12 month high of $60.24. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $54.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $50.67. The company has a market capitalization of $931.35 million, a PE ratio of 15.28 and a beta of 0.35.

AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF) last announced 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. AMERISAFE had a return on equity of 16.50% and a net margin of 19.49%. The company had revenue of $78.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $75.38 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.61 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that AMERISAFE, Inc. will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AMERISAFE Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a dividend of $3.37 per share. This represents a $13.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 27.57%. This is a boost from AMERISAFE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. AMERISAFE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.