Employers Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EIG) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Employers Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EIG) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 352,700 shares, an increase of 30.1% from the November 15th total of 271,000 shares. Currently, 1.5% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 115,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.1 days.

Employers Stock Performance

EIG stock traded up $0.34 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $52.72. 202,977 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 128,263. The stock has a market cap of $1.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.87 and a beta of 0.26. Employers has a fifty-two week low of $38.21 and a fifty-two week high of $54.44. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $51.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.26.

Employers (NYSE:EIG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.03. Employers had a net margin of 15.27% and a return on equity of 9.78%. The company had revenue of $224.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $225.19 million. Research analysts anticipate that Employers will post 3.65 EPS for the current year.

Employers Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th were given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. Employers’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on EIG. Truist Financial increased their target price on Employers from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com downgraded Employers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday.

Institutional Trading of Employers

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of EIG. Isthmus Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Employers by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 81,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Employers by 45.5% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,145 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in Employers by 15.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,520 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Employers during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $81,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Employers in the second quarter valued at $257,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.49% of the company’s stock.

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.