AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF) Rating Increased to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• AMERISAFE's rating has been upgraded from a "sell" to a "hold" by Wall Street Zen, reflecting a positive shift in analyst sentiment.
• JMP Securities maintains a "market outperform" rating for AMERISAFE, setting a target price of $65.00 for the stock.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings per share of $0.53, slightly below the consensus estimate of $0.55, but exceeded revenue expectations with $79.70 million.

AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

Separately, JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of AMERISAFE in a report on Wednesday, April 30th.

AMERISAFE Stock Performance

Shares of AMSF traded up $2.65 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $46.23. 226,724 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 127,602. AMERISAFE has a 52-week low of $42.48 and a 52-week high of $60.24. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $44.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $48.21. The firm has a market cap of $880.68 million, a P/E ratio of 17.51 and a beta of 0.40.

AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The insurance provider reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.55 by ($0.02). AMERISAFE had a return on equity of 16.36% and a net margin of 16.46%. The firm had revenue of $79.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $77.30 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that AMERISAFE will post 2.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of AMERISAFE

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AMSF. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in AMERISAFE in the first quarter valued at $8,466,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised 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 in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP increased its position in shares of AMERISAFE by 29.6% during the first quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 395,756 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $20,797,000 after purchasing an additional 90,395 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of AMERISAFE by 18.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 536,836 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $27,675,000 after purchasing an additional 83,297 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of AMERISAFE by 6,160.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 84,080 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $4,418,000 after purchasing an additional 82,737 shares in the last quarter. 97.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.