How to buy AMERISAFE stock | 59.1

AMERISAFE, Inc is an insurance—specialty business based in the US. AMERISAFE shares (AMSF) are listed on the NASDAQ and all prices are listed in US Dollars. AMERISAFE employs 431 staff and has a trailing 12-month revenue of around USD$351.7 million.

How to buy shares in AMERISAFE

1. Compare share trading platforms. If you're a beginner, look for a platform with low commissions, expert ratings and investment tools to track your portfolio. Narrow down top brands with our comparison table.
2. Open and fund your brokerage account. Complete an application with your personal and financial details, like your ID and bank information. Fund your account with a bank transfer, credit card or debit card.
3. Search for AMERISAFE. Find the stock by name or ticker symbol: AMSF. Research its history to confirm it's a solid investment against your financial goals.
4. Purchase now or later. Buy today with a market order or use a limit order to delay your purchase until AMERISAFE reaches your desired price. To spread out your purchase, look into dollar-cost averaging, which smooths out buying at consistent intervals and amounts.
5. Decide on how many to buy. At last close price of USD$59.1, weigh your budget against a diversified portfolio that can minimize risk through the market's ups and downs. You may be able to buy a fractional share of AMERISAFE, depending on your broker.
6. Check in on your investment. Congratulations, you own a part of AMERISAFE. Optimize your portfolio by tracking how your stock — and even the business — performs with an eye on the long term. You may be eligible for dividends and shareholder voting rights on directors and management that can affect your stock.

How has coronavirus impacted AMERISAFE's share price?

Since the stock market crash in March caused by coronavirus, AMERISAFE's share price has had significant negative movement.

Its last market close was USD$59.1, which is 21.91% down on its pre-crash value of USD$75.68 and 23.07% up on the lowest point reached during the March crash when the shares fell as low as USD$48.02.

If you had bought USD$1,000 worth of AMERISAFE shares at the start of February 2020, those shares would have been worth USD$759.10 at the bottom of the March crash, and if you held on to them, then as of the last market close they'd be worth USD$855.18.

AMERISAFE share price

Use our graph to track the performance of AMSF stocks over time.

AMERISAFE shares at a glance

• Key figures

Information last updated 2020-10-20.

Latest market close	USD$59.1
52-week range	USD$48.02 - USD$80.65
50-day moving average	USD$59.9449
200-day moving average	USD$62.1454
Wall St. target price	USD$77.67
PE ratio	12.242
Dividend yield	USD$1.08 (1.88%)
Earnings per share (TTM)	USD$4.67

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Is it a good time to buy AMERISAFE stock?

The technical analysis gauge below displays real-time ratings for the timeframes you select. This is not a recommendation, however. It represents a technical analysis based on the most popular technical indicators: Moving Averages, Oscillators and Pivots. Finder might not concur and takes no responsibility.

Technical Analysis of AMERISAFE, Inc by TradingView

This chart is not advice or a guarantee of success. Rather, it gauges the real-time recommendations of three popular technical indicators: moving averages, oscillators and pivots. Finder is not responsible for how your stock performs.

AMERISAFE price performance over time

Historical closes compared with the close of $59.1 from 2020-11-16

1 week (2020-11-18)	2.71%
1 month (2020-10-26)	1.46%
3 months (2020-08-25)	-10.02%
6 months (2020-05-22)	-4.92%

1 year (2019-11-25)	-11.71%
2 years (2018-11-23)	-8.33%
3 years (2017-11-24)	-8.58%
5 years (2015-11-25)	9.61%

Is AMERISAFE under- or over-valued?

Valuing AMERISAFE stock is incredibly difficult, and any metric has to be viewed as part of a bigger picture of AMERISAFE's overall performance. However, analysts commonly use some key metrics to help gauge the value of a stock.

AMERISAFE's P/E ratio

AMERISAFE's current share price divided by its per-share earnings (EPS) over a 12-month period gives a "trailing price/earnings ratio" of roughly 12x. In other words, AMERISAFE shares trade at around 12x recent earnings.

That's relatively low compared to, say, the trailing 12-month P/E ratio for the NASDAQ 100 at the end of 2019 (27.29). The low P/E ratio could mean that investors are pessimistic about the outlook for the shares or simply that they're under-valued.

AMERISAFE's PEG ratio

AMERISAFE's "price/earnings-to-growth ratio" can be calculated by dividing its P/E ratio by its growth – to give 1.88. A low ratio can be interpreted as meaning the shares offer better value, while a higher ratio can be interpreted as meaning the shares offer worse value.

The PEG ratio provides a broader view than just the P/E ratio, as it gives more insight into AMERISAFE's future profitability. By accounting for growth, it could also help you if you're comparing the share prices of multiple high-growth companies.

AMERISAFE's EBITDA

AMERISAFE's EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) is USD$113.2 million.

The EBITDA is a measure of a AMERISAFE's overall financial performance and is widely used to measure a its profitability.

AMERISAFE financials

Revenue TTM	USD$351.7 million
Operating margin TTM	31.91%
Gross profit TTM	USD$143 million
Return on assets TTM	4.49%
Return on equity TTM	19.76%
Profit margin	25.64%
Book value	$23.947
Market capitalisation	USD$1.1 billion

TTM: trailing 12 months

Shorting AMERISAFE shares

There are currently 230,687 AMERISAFE shares held short by investors – that's known as AMERISAFE's "short interest". This figure is 1.7% up from 226,830 last month.

There are a few different ways that this level of interest in shorting AMERISAFE shares can be evaluated.

AMERISAFE's "short interest ratio" (SIR)

AMERISAFE's "short interest ratio" (SIR) is the quantity of AMERISAFE shares currently shorted divided by the average quantity of AMERISAFE shares traded daily (recently around 114201.48514851). AMERISAFE's SIR currently stands at 2.02. In other words for every 100,000 AMERISAFE shares traded daily on the market, roughly 2020 shares are currently held short.

However AMERISAFE's short interest can also be evaluated against the total number of AMERISAFE shares, or, against the total number of tradable AMERISAFE shares (the shares that aren't held by "insiders" or major long-term shareholders – also known as the "float"). In this case AMERISAFE's short interest could be expressed as 0.01% of the outstanding shares (for every 100,000 AMERISAFE shares in existence, roughly 10 shares are currently held short) or 0.0142% of the tradable shares (for every 100,000 tradable AMERISAFE shares, roughly 14 shares are currently held short).

Such a low SIR usually points to an optimistic outlook for the share price, with fewer people currently willing to bet against AMERISAFE.

Find out more about how you can short AMERISAFE stock.

AMERISAFE share dividends

Dividend payout ratio: 22.7% of net profits

Recently AMERISAFE has paid out, on average, around 22.7% of net profits as dividends. That has enabled analysts to estimate a "forward annual dividend yield" of 1.88% of the current stock value. This means that over a year, based on recent payouts (which are sadly no guarantee of future payouts), AMERISAFE shareholders could enjoy a 1.88% return on their shares, in the form of dividend payments. In AMERISAFE's case, that would currently equate to about $1.08 per share.

While AMERISAFE's payout ratio might seem low, this can signify that AMERISAFE is investing more in its future growth.

AMERISAFE's most recent dividend payout was on 25 September 2020. The latest dividend was paid out to all shareholders who bought their shares by 10 September 2020 (the "ex-dividend date").

AMERISAFE share price volatility

Over the last 12 months, AMERISAFE's shares have ranged in value from as little as $48.02 up to $80.65. A popular way to gauge a stock's volatility is its "beta".

Beta is a measure of a share's volatility in relation to the market. The market (NASDAQ average) beta is 1, while AMERISAFE's is 0.4832. This would suggest that AMERISAFE's shares are less volatile than average (for this exchange).

AMERISAFE overview

AMERISAFE, Inc., an insurance holding company, underwrites workers' compensation insurance in the United States. Its workers' compensation insurance policies provide benefits to injured employees for temporary or permanent disability, death, and medical and hospital expenses. The company provides workers' compensation insurance for small to mid-sized employers engaged in hazardous industries, principally construction, trucking, logging and lumber, manufacturing, agriculture, maritime, and oil and gas. The company was incorporated in 1985 and is headquartered in DeRidder, Louisiana.

Frequently asked questions

• What percentage of AMERISAFE is owned by insiders or institutions?

  Currently 1.777% of AMERISAFE shares are held by insiders and 104.85% by institutions.

• How many people work for AMERISAFE?

  Latest data suggests 431 work at AMERISAFE.

• When does the fiscal year end for AMERISAFE?

  AMERISAFE's fiscal year ends in December.

• Where is AMERISAFE based?

  AMERISAFE's address is: 2301 Highway 190 West, DeRidder, LA, United States, 70634-6004

• What is AMERISAFE's ISIN number?

  AMERISAFE's international securities identification number is: US03071H1005

• What is AMERISAFE's CUSIP number?

  AMERISAFE's Committee on Uniform Securities Identification Procedures number is: 03071H100