Amerisafe, Inc. Expected to Earn FY2019 Earnings of $3.72 Per Share (NASDAQ:AMSF)

Posted by Stephan Byrd on Nov 17th, 2019

Amerisafe, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF) – B. Riley upped their FY2019 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Amerisafe in a report released on Wednesday, November 13th. B. Riley analyst R. Binner now anticipates that the insurance provider will post earnings per share of $3.72 for the year, up from their previous forecast of $3.40. B. Riley has a “Buy” rating and a $75.00 price objective on the stock.

Amerisafe (NASDAQ:AMSF) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The insurance provider reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $91.13 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.48 million. Amerisafe had a net margin of 20.77% and a return on equity of 17.50%.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on AMSF. ValuEngine lowered shares of Amerisafe from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. BidaskClub upgraded shares of Amerisafe from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $73.00.

Amerisafe stock opened at $65.46 on Friday. Amerisafe has a 52-week low of $50.46 and a 52-week high of $71.99. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $66.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $64.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.96 and a beta of 0.44.

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be given a dividend of $3.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 12th. Amerisafe’s payout ratio is presently 25.91%.

In related news, Director Randy Roach sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.05, for a total transaction of $35,025.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $612,026.85. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO G. Janelle Frost sold 1,625 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total transaction of $113,782.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 58,873 shares in the company, valued at $4,122,287.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,997 shares of company stock worth $339,221 over the last ninety days. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Amerisafe by 1.6% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,160 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $672,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Amerisafe by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 29,900 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,907,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the period. 6 Meridian boosted its holdings in shares of Amerisafe by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. 6 Meridian now owns 8,740 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $557,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Amerisafe by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 2,229 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $147,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the period. Finally, Quantamental Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Amerisafe by 22.9% during the 2nd quarter. Quantamental Technologies LLC now owns 1,094 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the period.

About Amerisafe

AMERISAFE, Inc, an insurance holding company, underwrites workers' compensation insurance in the United States. Its workers' compensation insurance policies provide benefits to injured employees for temporary or permanent disability, death, and medical and hospital expenses. The company provides workers' compensation insurance for small to mid-sized employers engaged in hazardous industries, principally construction, trucking, logging and lumber, manufacturing, agriculture, maritime, and oil and gas.