Amerisafe Inc.’s (AMSF - Analyst Report) first-quarter 2016 operating earnings per share of $1.26 outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 57%. The bottom line surged nearly 60% year over year. The upside came on the back of continued solid underwriting results, and efficient claims management and expense control.

Amerisafe Inc. (AMSF - Analyst Report) Street EPS & Surprise Percent - Last 5 Quarters | FindTheCompany

Quarter in Detail

Amerisafe’s total operating revenues increased 1% year over year to $102 million and beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $101 million. The increase lead to higher net premiums earned of $96 million.

Amerisafe’s insurance business reported a 0.4% decline in gross premium written to $100 million. Net premiums earned increased 1.2% year over year to $96 million.

Net investment income, which represented nearly 6% of the total revenue, decreased 11.5% year over year to $6 million. The decrease was due to a decline in the value of an investment in a limited partnership hedge fund.

Insurance loss adjustment expenses declined 22% year over year to $47 million. This contributed in large part to the 16% year-over-year decrease in Amerisafe’s total expense which came in at $68 million.

Underwriting profit skyrocketed 97.4% year over year to $28 million.Also, net combined ratio improved 1,420 basis points to 70.8%.

Financial Update

Amerisafe exited the quarter with cash and investments worth $79.3 million, up 14% from 2015 end. Total shareholders’ equity was $478.8 million as of Mar 31, 2016, up from $454 million at the end of 2015.

Operating return on equity was 20.8% in the quarter, up from 13.4% in the year-ago quarter. Book value per share came in at $24.96, up 2.6% year over year.

Dividend and Share Repurchase Update

During the quarter, no shares were bought back under the repurchase plan.The company paid 18 cents per share in dividend. On Apr 26, the board announced a quarterly dividend of 18 cents to be paid on June 24, 2016 to shareholders of record as of Jun 10, 2016.

Zacks Rank & Peer Performance

Currently, Amerisafe carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Among the other industry players that have reported first-quarter earnings are: Aflac Inc. (AFL - Analyst Report), Employers Holdings, Inc. (EIG - Snapshot Report) and Unum Group (UNM - Analyst Report) has outperformed the respective Zacks Consensus Estimate.