AMERISAFE’s (AMSF) “Market Outperform” Rating Reiterated at JMP Securities

AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF)‘s stock had its “market outperform” rating reaffirmed by analysts at JMP Securities in a research report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $65.00 price objective on the insurance provider’s stock. JMP Securities’ target price indicates a potential upside of 38.65% from the stock’s previous close.

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of AMERISAFE from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th.

AMERISAFE Trading Down 5.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AMSF traded down $2.80 on Tuesday, reaching $46.88. 85,173 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 129,199. AMERISAFE has a 1-year low of $41.97 and a 1-year high of $54.87. The firm has a market cap of $897.28 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.60 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a 50-day moving average of $44.61 and a 200-day moving average of $47.53.

AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The insurance provider reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.03). AMERISAFE had a return on equity of 16.76% and a net margin of 19.97%. The company had revenue of $75.83 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $74.20 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.73 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that AMERISAFE will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AMERISAFE news, Director Michael J. Brown bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $43.52 per share, with a total value of $43,520.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,055 shares in the company, valued at $437,593.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AMERISAFE

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its position in AMERISAFE by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 10,967 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $513,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares in the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC increased its position in AMERISAFE by 22.0% during the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 2,082 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $104,000 after purchasing an additional 376 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in AMERISAFE by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,680 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $406,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in AMERISAFE by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,852 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $695,000 after purchasing an additional 755 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in AMERISAFE by 26.9% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,901 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $182,000 after purchasing an additional 828 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.41% of the company’s stock.

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.