UBS Group AG Decreases Stock Position in Employers Holdings Inc $EIG

UBS Group AG reduced its position in Employers Holdings Inc (NYSE:EIG) by 32.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 121,984 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 59,357 shares during the period. UBS Group AG’s holdings in Employers were worth $5,266,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of EIG. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its position in Employers by 133.5% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 635 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 363 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Employers by 35.7% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,561 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 411 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in Employers by 179.6% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,276 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $107,000 after buying an additional 1,462 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in Employers by 26.8% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,718 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $128,000 after buying an additional 575 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AXQ Capital LP purchased a new stake in Employers in the third quarter worth $233,000. 80.49% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Employers news, insider Christina M. Ozuna sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total value of $179,460.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 15,008 shares in the company, valued at $598,519.04. This represents a 23.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ann Marie Smith sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.29, for a total transaction of $196,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 8,704 shares in the company, valued at $341,980.16. This represents a 36.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Employers Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EIG opened at $43.77 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $798.36 million, a PE ratio of 132.64 and a beta of 0.48. Employers Holdings Inc has a fifty-two week low of $35.73 and a fifty-two week high of $49.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.40. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $41.49 and a 200-day moving average of $41.72.

Employers (NYSE:EIG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.55 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $207.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $213.04 million. Employers had a net margin of 0.95% and a return on equity of 1.10%. Employers’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.87 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Employers Holdings Inc will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Employers Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. This is a boost from Employers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Employers’s dividend payout ratio is currently 412.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on EIG. Wall Street Zen raised Employers from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Zacks Research downgraded Employers from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, Employers currently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

About Employers

Employers Holdings, Inc (NYSE: EIG) is a publicly traded property and casualty insurance holding company headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa. Through its subsidiaries, Employers Mutual Casualty Company and Employers Preferred Insurance Company, the firm specializes in providing workers’ compensation coverage alongside an array of commercial insurance products. Its service offerings include general liability, commercial auto, businessowners policies and umbrella coverages, tailored to meet the risk-management needs of small and mid-sized businesses across multiple industries.

The company markets its insurance solutions primarily through a network of independent agencies and brokers, leveraging local market expertise to underwrite policies that address the unique exposures faced by clients in manufacturing, construction, healthcare, retail and service sectors.