Short Interest in AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF) Drops By 37.5%

AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 132,800 shares, a decrease of 37.5% from the February 13th total of 212,500 shares. Currently, 0.7% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 92,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.4 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AMERISAFE

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Isthmus Partners LLC increased its position in shares of AMERISAFE by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 63,926 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,295,000 after acquiring an additional 316 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in AMERISAFE by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 10,842 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $559,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in AMERISAFE by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 5,882 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $284,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares during the period. Values First Advisors Inc. grew its position in AMERISAFE by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. now owns 5,350 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in AMERISAFE by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 9,375 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $483,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares during the period. 97.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AMERISAFE Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of AMSF opened at $51.20 on Friday. AMERISAFE has a 12 month low of $41.97 and a 12 month high of $60.24. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $50.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $51.86. The firm has a market cap of $975.36 million, a PE ratio of 16.00 and a beta of 0.33.

AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The insurance provider reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.07. AMERISAFE had a return on equity of 16.50% and a net margin of 19.49%. The firm had revenue of $73.51 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $77.37 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that AMERISAFE will post 2.45 EPS for the current year.

AMERISAFE Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. AMERISAFE’s payout ratio is 53.98%.

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.