Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Cuts Stake in AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC cut its holdings in AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF) by 48.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,778 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 1,638 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in AMERISAFE were worth $83,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of AMERISAFE by 10.4% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 154,569 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $7,739,000 after buying an additional 14,572 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in AMERISAFE by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 104,820 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $5,248,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of AMERISAFE by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 61,653 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,087,000 after purchasing an additional 2,672 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in shares of AMERISAFE by 0.9% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 46,287 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,318,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of AMERISAFE in the third quarter worth about $1,962,000. 97.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on AMSF. StockNews.com lowered AMERISAFE from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $65.00 target price on shares of AMERISAFE in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded shares of AMERISAFE from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th.

AMERISAFE Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMSF opened at $44.98 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $860.92 million, a P/E ratio of 14.01 and a beta of 0.32. AMERISAFE, Inc. has a 1-year low of $44.88 and a 1-year high of $57.06. The business’s 50 day moving average is $50.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.46.

AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The insurance provider reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $80.49 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $75.22 million. AMERISAFE had a return on equity of 16.76% and a net margin of 19.97%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.83 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that AMERISAFE, Inc. will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AMERISAFE Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. AMERISAFE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.11%.

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.