AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Shares of AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF) gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $39.13, but opened at $37.64. AMERISAFE shares last traded at $38.0950, with a volume of 18,670 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMSF has been the subject of several analyst reports. JMP Securities cut their price target on AMERISAFE from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of AMERISAFE from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of AMERISAFE in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of AMERISAFE in a report on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AMERISAFE presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.00.

AMERISAFE Stock Down 4.2%

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $41.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.73. The stock has a market cap of $709.12 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.31 and a beta of 0.37.

AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The insurance provider reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55. The company had revenue of $71.29 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $78.29 million. AMERISAFE had a return on equity of 16.94% and a net margin of 16.12%. On average, research analysts expect that AMERISAFE, Inc. will post 2.45 EPS for the current year.

AMERISAFE Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a special dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 12th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. This represents a yield of 410.0%. AMERISAFE’s payout ratio is currently 59.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AMERISAFE news, CFO Anastasios Omiridis sold 1,247 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.21, for a total value of $50,141.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 2,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $102,093.19. This trade represents a 32.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AMERISAFE

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in AMERISAFE by 170.5% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 779 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 491 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its holdings in AMERISAFE by 346.9% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 943 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 732 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of AMERISAFE by 38.6% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,633 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of AMERISAFE by 301.6% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,554 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 1,167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in shares of AMERISAFE by 87.9% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,920 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 898 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.41% of the company’s stock.

AMERISAFE Company Profile

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.