Creative Planning Purchases 19,527 Shares of AMERISAFE, Inc. $AMSF

Creative Planning increased its position in AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF) by 96.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,673 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,527 shares during the quarter. Creative Planning’s holdings in AMERISAFE were worth $1,735,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AMSF. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in AMERISAFE in the first quarter valued at approximately $8,466,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in AMERISAFE by 82.6% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 217,280 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $11,418,000 after buying an additional 98,293 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its position in shares of AMERISAFE by 13.2% during the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 684,558 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $35,974,000 after buying an additional 79,750 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of AMERISAFE by 9.3% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 723,562 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $38,023,000 after acquiring an additional 61,767 shares during the period. Finally, CSM Advisors LLC acquired a new position in AMERISAFE during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,402,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

AMERISAFE Price Performance

AMSF stock opened at $40.91 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $774.18 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.67 and a beta of 0.33. AMERISAFE, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.09 and a twelve month high of $59.51. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $41.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $44.00.

AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The insurance provider reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.55. AMERISAFE had a return on equity of 17.16% and a net margin of 16.12%.The company had revenue of $71.29 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $78.29 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that AMERISAFE, Inc. will post 2.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AMERISAFE Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a special dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 394.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. AMERISAFE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AMERISAFE news, CFO Anastasios Omiridis sold 1,247 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.21, for a total value of $50,141.87. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 2,539 shares in the company, valued at $102,093.19. This represents a 32.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.61% of the company’s stock.

AMERISAFE 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.