Palisade Capital Management LP Lowers Position in AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF)

Palisade Capital Management LP lessened its stake in AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF - Free Report) by 3.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 268,986 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 11,006 shares during the quarter. Palisade Capital Management LP owned approximately 1.41% of AMERISAFE worth $14,135,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AMSF. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of AMERISAFE in the fourth quarter worth $43,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in AMERISAFE by 19.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,600 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in AMERISAFE during the fourth quarter valued at $180,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC raised its stake in AMERISAFE by 336.1% during the fourth quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 3,925 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $202,000 after purchasing an additional 3,025 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versor Investments LP purchased a new stake in AMERISAFE during the fourth quarter valued at $205,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.41% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of AMERISAFE in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th.

AMERISAFE Stock Performance

AMSF stock traded up $0.72 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $43.83. 67,720 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 108,475. AMERISAFE, Inc. has a one year low of $42.48 and a one year high of $60.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $834.96 million, a PE ratio of 17.67 and a beta of 0.40. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $45.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $48.90.

AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The insurance provider reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.01. AMERISAFE had a net margin of 15.76% and a return on equity of 16.41%. The business had revenue of $83.78 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $76.66 million. On average, equities analysts expect that AMERISAFE, Inc. will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AMERISAFE Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th were issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. AMERISAFE's payout ratio is presently 62.90%.

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.