Principal Financial Group Inc. Cuts Stake in AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF) by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 90,017 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 4,619 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.47% of AMERISAFE worth $4,351,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AMERISAFE in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Quarry LP grew its holdings in AMERISAFE by 1,028.4% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 756 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 689 shares during the period. Isthmus Partners LLC boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 9,672 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of AMERISAFE by 97.1% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 822 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of AMERISAFE in the 2nd quarter valued at $100,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMSF has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. 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 raised their price objective on AMERISAFE from $48.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded AMERISAFE from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th.

AMERISAFE Trading Up 0.4 %

AMSF stock opened at $58.07 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $52.23 and its 200 day moving average is $48.21. The stock has a market cap of $1.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.15 and a beta of 0.33. AMERISAFE, Inc. has a 12-month low of $41.97 and a 12-month high of $60.24.

AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The insurance provider reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $78.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 firm earned $0.61 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that AMERISAFE, Inc. 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 yield of 23.21%. This is a positive change from AMERISAFE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. AMERISAFE’s payout ratio is presently 46.25%.

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.