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

Employers Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EIG) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in the month of 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 shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 139,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.0 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Employers Price Performance

EIG traded down $0.50 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $50.07. 132,947 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 118,089. 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. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $49.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $49.86.

Employers (NYSE:EIG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The financial services provider reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $216.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $221.18 million. Employers had a return on equity of 8.99% and a net margin of 13.47%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Employers will post 3.63 EPS for the current year.

Employers Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Employers

In other news, Director James R. Kroner sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.90, for a total transaction of $101,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 25,458 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,295,812.20. This represents a 7.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ann Marie Smith sold 1,385 shares of Employers 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 in the company, 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 worth $276,267. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Employers by 312.0% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 482 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 365 shares during the period. Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Employers in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Employers by 50.1% in 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. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Employers during the 4th quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, FMR LLC increased its position in shares of 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 during the last quarter. 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.