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

Employers Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EIG) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 247,900 shares, a decrease of 7.0% from the October 15th total of 266,500 shares. Currently, 1.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 121,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.0 days.

Employers Price Performance

Shares of EIG stock traded up $0.06 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $37.99. The company had a trading volume of 142,291 shares, compared to its average volume of 131,474. The company’s fifty day moving average is $39.41 and its 200 day moving average is $38.48. Employers has a fifty-two week low of $35.43 and a fifty-two week high of $46.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $977.10 million, a PE ratio of 8.64 and a beta of 0.24.

Employers (NYSE:EIG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $203.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $214.70 million. Employers had a net margin of 14.13% and a return on equity of 10.56%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.56 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Employers will post 3.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Employers Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 7th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.95%. Employers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.34%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Employers

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Employers by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,516 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $101,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC grew its position in shares of Employers by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 17,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $728,000 after buying an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Employers by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $214,000 after buying an additional 349 shares during the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Employers by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 80,130 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,998,000 after buying an additional 383 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank grew its position in shares of Employers by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 59,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,361,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. 78.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of Employers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 27th.

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.