Short Interest in Employers Holdings Inc (NYSE:EIG) Decreases By 35.3%

Employers Holdings Inc (NYSE:EIG) was the target of a large decline in short interest in the month of June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totaling 887,024 shares, a decline of 35.3% from the June 15th total of 1,370,594 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 433,883 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.0 days. Approximately 4.9% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Employers

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Employers by 145.5% in the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 621 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Employers by 227.1% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 651 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 452 shares in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Employers by 133.5% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 635 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 363 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Employers by 35.7% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,561 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 411 shares during the period. Finally, Danske Bank A S raised its position in Employers by 425.0% during the fourth quarter. Danske Bank A S now owns 2,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $91,000 after buying an additional 1,700 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.49% of the company’s stock.

Employers Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE EIG opened at $50.30 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $46.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.83. The company has a market cap of $917.51 million, a PE ratio of 152.43 and a beta of 0.46. Employers has a 12-month low of $35.73 and a 12-month high of $52.06.

Employers (NYSE:EIG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.55 by ($0.02). Employers had a net margin of 0.95% and a return on equity of 1.10%. The business had revenue of $207.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $213.04 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.87 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Employers will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Employers Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. This is a boost from Employers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Employers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 412.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on EIG shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Employers from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 13th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Employers from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Employers from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average 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.