AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF) was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued on Friday.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. TheStreet raised shares of AMERISAFE from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of AMERISAFE in a research report on Monday, April 15th.

AMERISAFE Price Performance

NASDAQ AMSF opened at $45.56 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $50.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.51. AMERISAFE has a 12 month low of $44.88 and a 12 month high of $57.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $872.02 million, a P/E ratio of 14.19 and a beta of 0.32.

AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The insurance provider reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.08. AMERISAFE had a net margin of 19.97% and a return on equity of 16.76%. The company had revenue of $73.88 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $75.15 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that AMERISAFE will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of AMERISAFE

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of AMERISAFE by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,398,263 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $65,411,000 after buying an additional 37,048 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its stake in AMERISAFE by 18.4% in the fourth quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 678,321 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $31,732,000 after purchasing an additional 105,414 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado increased its stake in AMERISAFE by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 301,819 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $14,119,000 after purchasing an additional 12,433 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in AMERISAFE by 70.3% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 178,458 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $8,348,000 after purchasing an additional 73,638 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in AMERISAFE by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 155,654 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $7,281,000 after purchasing an additional 2,856 shares during the last quarter. 97.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.