Employers Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EIG) Short Interest Update

Employers Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EIG) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 285,900 shares, a decrease of 21.2% from the February 13th total of 363,000 shares. Approximately 1.2% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 139,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.0 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Employers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Ann Marie Smith sold 1,385 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.24, for a total transaction of $70,967.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 8,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $450,963.24. The trade was a 13.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director James R. Kroner sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.00, for a total transaction of $52,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 22,458 shares in the company, valued at $1,167,816. This represents a 4.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,385 shares of company stock worth $276,267 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Employers

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Employers by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 579,404 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,800,000 after buying an additional 3,349 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Employers by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 565,154 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,953,000 after acquiring an additional 48,844 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Employers by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 506,140 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,930,000 after acquiring an additional 3,364 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Employers by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 423,263 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,684,000 after acquiring an additional 4,479 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners boosted its stake in shares of Employers by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 280,489 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,248,000 after purchasing an additional 10,158 shares in the last quarter. 80.49% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Employers Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of EIG stock traded down $0.50 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $50.07. The company had a trading volume of 132,947 shares, compared to its average volume of 118,089. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $49.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.63 and a beta of 0.21. Employers has a 52 week low of $38.67 and a 52 week high of $54.44.

Employers (NYSE:EIG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The financial services provider reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.07. Employers had a net margin of 13.47% and a return on equity of 8.99%. The firm had revenue of $216.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $221.18 million. On average, research analysts predict that Employers will post 3.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Employers Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.40%. Employers’s payout ratio is 25.48%.

Employers Company Profile

Employers Holdings, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates in the commercial property and casualty insurance industry primarily in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Employers and Cerity. It offers workers’ compensation insurance to small businesses in low to medium hazard industries under the Employers and Cerity brands.