Wall Street Zen Upgrades AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF) to “Hold”

AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF) was upgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Truist Financial reduced their price target on AMERISAFE from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings cut shares of AMERISAFE from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of AMERISAFE from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $44.00.

AMERISAFE Price Performance

Shares of AMSF stock opened at $23.51 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $30.50. AMERISAFE has a 1 year low of $23.50 and a 1 year high of $44.66. The company has a market cap of $435.88 million, a PE ratio of 9.48 and a beta of 0.23.

AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The insurance provider reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.08). AMERISAFE had a return on equity of 14.87% and a net margin of 14.00%.The firm had revenue of $91.97 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $85.09 million. Equities research analysts expect that AMERISAFE will post 1.97 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its holdings in shares of AMERISAFE by 3,741.0% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 16,397,229 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $62,982,000 after purchasing an additional 15,970,329 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in AMERISAFE during the second quarter valued at approximately $122,167,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in AMERISAFE by 6.7% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 623,697 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $20,788,000 after buying an additional 39,168 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in AMERISAFE by 19.3% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 261,375 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $8,712,000 after buying an additional 42,375 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in AMERISAFE by 125.0% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 138,584 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,619,000 after buying an additional 76,989 shares during the period. 97.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About AMERISAFE

AMERISAFE, Inc (NASDAQ: AMSF) is a specialty workers’ compensation insurance company headquartered in DeRidder, Louisiana. Through its insurance subsidiaries, the company provides workers’ compensation coverage to small and mid-sized employers whose operations involve relatively high workplace risks.

The company focuses on industries such as construction, trucking, logging, agriculture, manufacturing, oil and gas, and other hazardous occupations. Its services include workers’ compensation underwriting, claims administration, workplace safety and loss-control services, and premium auditing.

AMERISAFE primarily serves employers across the southeastern and other selected regions of the United States.