Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Grows Stake in AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF)

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF) by 13.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 701,806 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 83,438 shares during the quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. owned about 3.67% of AMERISAFE worth $30,802,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. EntryPoint Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of AMERISAFE by 22.0% in the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 2,082 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $104,000 after acquiring an additional 376 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of AMERISAFE by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,852 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $695,000 after acquiring an additional 755 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AMERISAFE by 26.9% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,901 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $182,000 after acquiring an additional 828 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of AMERISAFE by 12.3% in the 2nd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 8,042 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $353,000 after acquiring an additional 880 shares during the period. Finally, Diversified Trust Co grew its stake in AMERISAFE by 16.7% during the 2nd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 8,591 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $377,000 after buying an additional 1,230 shares during the last quarter. 97.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AMERISAFE Price Performance

Shares of AMSF stock opened at $47.91 on Friday. AMERISAFE, Inc. has a 1-year low of $41.97 and a 1-year high of $54.80. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $48.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $47.16. The company has a market cap of $916.76 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.93 and a beta of 0.34.

AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The insurance provider reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.03). AMERISAFE had a return on equity of 16.38% and a net margin of 18.46%. The firm had revenue of $75.83 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $74.20 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.73 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that AMERISAFE, Inc. will post 2.4 earnings per share for the current year.

AMERISAFE Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.09%. AMERISAFE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMSF has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded AMERISAFE from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $65.00 target price on shares of AMERISAFE in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th.

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.