Employers Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EIG) Short Interest Down 21.2% in February

Employers Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EIG) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 285,900 shares, a decrease 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 trading volume of 139,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.0 days.

Employers Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE:EIG traded up $0.40 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $50.54. 196,998 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 118,107. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $49.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $49.83. Employers has a 12 month low of $38.67 and a 12 month high of $54.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.73 and a beta of 0.21.

Employers (NYSE:EIG) last announced its 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 return on equity of 8.99% and a net margin of 13.47%. The firm had revenue of $216.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $221.18 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Employers will post 3.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Employers Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.37%. Employers’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Ann Marie Smith sold 1,385 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.24, for a total transaction of $70,967.40. Following the transaction, the insider now 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director James R. Kroner sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.50, for a total value of $51,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,458 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,208,087. This represents a 4.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,385 shares of company stock valued at $276,267. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Employers

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Employers by 0.6% in 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 during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Employers by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 565,154 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,953,000 after buying an additional 48,844 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Employers by 0.7% during the 4th 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 period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Employers by 1.1% during the 4th 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 lifted its position in shares of Employers by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 280,489 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,248,000 after buying an additional 10,158 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.49% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com lowered Employers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report 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.