Champlain Investment Partners LLC Has $44.28 Million Stake in AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF)

Champlain Investment Partners LLC trimmed its stake in shares of AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF) by 4.8% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 916,273 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 46,033 shares during the quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in AMERISAFE were worth $44,283,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of AMERISAFE in the 1st quarter valued at $154,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in AMERISAFE by 8.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,472,739 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $73,887,000 after purchasing an additional 115,676 shares in the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd acquired a new position in shares of AMERISAFE during the first quarter valued at about $300,000. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AMERISAFE by 14.9% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 11,511 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $577,000 after purchasing an additional 1,497 shares during the period. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its position in shares of AMERISAFE by 9.6% during the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 17,719 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $888,000 after purchasing an additional 1,553 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on AMSF. StockNews.com raised AMERISAFE from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of AMERISAFE from $48.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $65.00 price objective on shares of AMERISAFE in a report on Tuesday, October 15th.

AMERISAFE Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMSF opened at $58.69 on Friday. AMERISAFE, Inc. has a 52 week low of $41.97 and a 52 week high of $60.24. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $52.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $48.36. The firm has a market cap of $1.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.34 and a beta of 0.33.

AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The insurance provider reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $78.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $75.38 million. AMERISAFE had a return on equity of 16.50% and a net margin of 19.49%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.61 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AMERISAFE, Inc. will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current year.

AMERISAFE Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a $3.37 dividend. This is a positive change from AMERISAFE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $13.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 22.97%. AMERISAFE’s payout ratio is currently 46.25%.

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.