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

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

Employers Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of EIG stock traded down $0.01 on Wednesday, reaching $50.11. The stock had a trading volume of 61,060 shares, compared to its average volume of 117,883. Employers has a 12 month low of $38.67 and a 12 month high of $54.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.63 and a beta of 0.21. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $49.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.86.

Employers (NYSE:EIG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The financial services provider reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.07. Employers had a return on equity of 8.99% and a net margin of 13.47%. The firm had revenue of $216.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $221.18 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Employers will post 3.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Employers Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. 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 2.39%. Employers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Employers

In related news, Director James R. Kroner sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.90, for a total transaction of $101,800.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 25,458 shares in the company, valued at $1,295,812.20. This trade represents a 7.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Ann Marie Smith sold 1,385 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was 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 directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,385 shares of company stock valued at $276,267. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Employers

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Employers by 0.6% in 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 stake in shares of Employers by 9.5% in 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 in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Employers by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 506,140 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,930,000 after acquiring an additional 3,364 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Employers by 1.1% during the fourth 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 period. Finally, Boston Partners raised its stake in Employers by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 280,489 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,248,000 after purchasing an additional 10,158 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.49% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.