AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF) Short Interest Up 17.1% in October

AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 208,700 shares, an increase of 17.1% from the October 15th total of 178,200 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 111,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.9 days. Approximately 1.1% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AMERISAFE

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in AMERISAFE by 1.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 453,539 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $21,924,000 after acquiring an additional 6,166 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of AMERISAFE by 365.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 33,219 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,605,000 after purchasing an additional 26,084 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lifted its position in shares of AMERISAFE by 123.4% in the 3rd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 13,186 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $637,000 after purchasing an additional 7,283 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of AMERISAFE by 70.6% during the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 41,299 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,996,000 after purchasing an additional 17,084 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its holdings in AMERISAFE by 8.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 811,561 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $39,223,000 after buying an additional 63,638 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.41% of the company’s stock.

AMERISAFE Price Performance

AMSF stock opened at $58.28 on Friday. AMERISAFE has a 12 month low of $41.97 and a 12 month high of $60.24. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $51.62 and its 200 day moving average is $47.97. The company has a market capitalization of $1.11 billion, a PE ratio of 18.21 and a beta of 0.33.

AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The insurance provider reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $78.70 million for 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 company posted $0.61 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that AMERISAFE will post 2.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AMERISAFE Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $3.37 dividend. This represents a $13.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 23.13%. This is a boost from AMERISAFE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. AMERISAFE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of AMERISAFE in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Truist Financial upped their target price on 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 raised AMERISAFE from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th.

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.