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

Employers Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EIG) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 412,800 shares, an increase of 44.4% from the February 28th total of 285,900 shares. Currently, 1.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 155,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.7 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Employers news, Director James R. Kroner sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.50, for a total value of $51,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 23,458 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,208,087. This represents a 4.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Ann Marie Smith sold 1,385 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now owns 8,801 shares in the company, valued at $450,963.24. This represents a 13.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,385 shares of company stock valued at $276,267. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Employers

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in Employers by 312.0% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 482 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 365 shares in the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Employers in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Employers by 50.1% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 596 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Employers during the 4th quarter valued at $48,000. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its position in Employers by 15.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,520 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. 80.49% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Employers Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of EIG traded down $0.41 on Friday, hitting $50.38. 95,442 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 132,073. Employers has a 1 year low of $38.67 and a 1 year high of $54.44. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $49.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.70 and a beta of 0.21.

Employers (NYSE:EIG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The financial services provider reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $216.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $221.18 million. Employers had a return on equity of 8.99% and a net margin of 13.47%. Research analysts forecast that Employers will post 3.63 EPS for the current year.

Employers Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. Employers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.48%.

About Employers

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.