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

Employers Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EIG) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 448,300 shares, a decline of 7.3% from the December 15th total of 483,500 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 117,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.8 days. Currently, 1.8% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Employers Stock Down 0.8 %

Employers stock traded down $0.41 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $49.82. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 132,020 shares, compared to its average volume of 125,656. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $48.68. The company has a market cap of $1.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.33 and a beta of 0.27. Employers has a fifty-two week low of $38.67 and a fifty-two week high of $54.44.

Employers (NYSE:EIG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $224.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $225.19 million. Employers had a return on equity of 9.78% and a net margin of 15.27%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Employers will post 3.65 earnings per share 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. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. Employers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on EIG shares. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Employers from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com cut Employers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Employers

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Employers by 50.1% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 596 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Employers by 15.2% in 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 during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in Employers by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 14,723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $708,000 after buying an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC increased its position in Employers by 4.3% during the second quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 8,225 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $351,000 after buying an additional 336 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. 80.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.