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 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. Approximately 1.7% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 155,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.7 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Employers

In related news, Director James R. Kroner sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now directly owns 25,458 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,295,812.20. The trade was a 7.28 % decrease in their position. 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 the business’s 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $450,963.24. This represents a 13.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,385 shares of company stock worth $276,267 over the last ninety days. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Employers by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 579,404 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,800,000 after acquiring an additional 3,349 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Employers by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 565,154 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,953,000 after purchasing an additional 48,844 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Employers by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 506,140 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,930,000 after buying an additional 3,364 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 4,479 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners grew its holdings in Employers by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 280,489 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,248,000 after purchasing an additional 10,158 shares during the last quarter. 80.49% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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 Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of EIG stock traded up $0.26 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $50.63. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 185,423 shares, compared to its average volume of 132,285. Employers has a one year low of $38.67 and a one year high of $54.44. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $49.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $50.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.75 and a beta of 0.21.

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

Employers Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.37%. 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.