AMERISAFE (AMSF) Competitors

AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF) and Employers (NYSE:EIG) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership, media sentiment, risk, profitability, dividends and earnings.

Which has more volatility and risk, AMSF or EIG?

AMERISAFE has a beta of 0.4, indicating that its stock price is 60% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Employers has a beta of 0.54, indicating that its stock price is 46% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts rate AMSF or EIG?

AMERISAFE presently has a consensus price target of $59.50, indicating a potential upside of 35.75%. Employers has a consensus price target of $58.00, indicating a potential upside of 21.42%. Given AMERISAFE's higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe AMERISAFE is more favorable than Employers.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
AMERISAFE	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50
Employers	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50

Does the media prefer AMSF or EIG?

In the previous week, AMERISAFE had 4 more articles in the media than Employers. MarketBeat recorded 5 mentions for AMERISAFE and 1 mentions for Employers. AMERISAFE's average media sentiment score of 0.37 beat Employers' score of 0.00 indicating that AMERISAFE is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
AMERISAFE	2 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Employers	0 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Which has preferable earnings and valuation, AMSF or EIG?

Employers has higher revenue and earnings than AMERISAFE. Employers is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than AMERISAFE, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
AMERISAFE	$309.04M	2.70	$55.44M	$2.48	17.67
Employers	$860.20M	1.34	$118.60M	$4.12	11.59

Do institutionals and insiders believe in AMSF or EIG?

97.4% of AMERISAFE shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 80.5% of Employers shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.6% of AMERISAFE shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.4% of Employers shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Is AMSF or EIG more profitable?

AMERISAFE has a net margin of 15.76% compared to Employers' net margin of 11.99%. AMERISAFE's return on equity of 16.41% beat Employers' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
AMERISAFE	15.76%	16.41%	3.87%
Employers	11.99%	9.21%	2.75%

Is AMSF or EIG a better dividend stock?

AMERISAFE pays an annual dividend of $1.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.6%. Employers pays an annual dividend of $1.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. AMERISAFE pays out 62.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Employers pays out 31.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. AMERISAFE has increased its dividend for 12 consecutive years and Employers has increased its dividend for 4 consecutive years. AMERISAFE is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

AMERISAFE beats Employers on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.