AMERISAFE (AMSF) Competitors

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

Does the media favor AMSF or EIG?

In the previous week, AMERISAFE had 3 more articles in the media than Employers. MarketBeat recorded 4 mentions for AMERISAFE and 1 mentions for Employers. Employers' average media sentiment score of 1.67 beat AMERISAFE's score of 0.17 indicating that Employers is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Overall Sentiment
AMERISAFE	Neutral
Employers	Very Positive

Do analysts rate AMSF or EIG?

AMERISAFE currently has a consensus price target of $57.50, suggesting a potential upside of 37.13%. Employers has a consensus price target of $58.00, suggesting a potential upside of 36.76%. Given AMERISAFE's higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe AMERISAFE is more favorable than Employers.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
AMERISAFE	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.33
Employers	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.33

Which has better earnings & 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	2.58	$55.44M	$2.64	15.88
Employers	$889.50M	1.12	$118.60M	$4.10	10.34

Is AMSF or EIG a better dividend stock?

AMERISAFE pays an annual dividend of $1.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. Employers pays an annual dividend of $1.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. AMERISAFE pays out 59.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Employers pays out 31.2% 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 raised its dividend for 12 consecutive years and Employers has raised its dividend for 4 consecutive years. AMERISAFE is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Do institutionals & insiders believe in AMSF or EIG?

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

Is AMSF or EIG more profitable?

AMERISAFE has a net margin of 16.46% compared to Employers' net margin of 11.37%. AMERISAFE's return on equity of 16.54% beat Employers' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
AMERISAFE	16.46%	16.54%	3.84%
Employers	11.37%	7.56%	2.29%

Which has more volatility and risk, AMSF or EIG?

AMERISAFE has a beta of 0.32, indicating that its share price is 68% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Employers has a beta of 0.5, indicating that its share price is 50% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

AMERISAFE beats Employers on 11 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.