AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF) to Issue Dividend Increase – $3.37 Per Share

AMERISAFE, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSF) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, October 23rd, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a dividend of 3.37 per share by the insurance provider on Friday, December 13th. This represents a $13.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 24.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This is a boost from AMERISAFE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37.

AMERISAFE has raised its dividend by an average of 8.0% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 11 consecutive years. AMERISAFE has a dividend payout ratio of 64.3% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect AMERISAFE to earn $2.10 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.48 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 70.5%.

AMERISAFE Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMSF opened at $56.17 on Friday. AMERISAFE has a 1 year low of $41.97 and a 1 year high of $56.43. The stock has a market cap of $1.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.50 and a beta of 0.34. The business has a fifty day moving average of $49.19 and a 200-day moving average of $47.05.

AMERISAFE (NASDAQ:AMSF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The insurance provider reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.02. AMERISAFE had a return on equity of 16.38% and a net margin of 18.46%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.61 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that AMERISAFE will post 2.4 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AMSF. StockNews.com raised AMERISAFE from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of AMERISAFE in a report on Tuesday, October 15th.

AMERISAFE Company Profile

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.