Employers Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EIG) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Employers Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EIG) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 448,300 shares, a decrease of 7.3% from the December 15th total of 483,500 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 117,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.8 days. Currently, 1.8% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Employers Stock Performance

Shares of Employers stock traded down $0.41 on Monday, reaching $49.82. 132,020 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 125,656. The company’s 50-day moving average is $51.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $48.72. The firm has a market cap of $1.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.33 and a beta of 0.27. Employers has a 1-year low of $38.67 and a 1-year high of $54.44.

Employers (NYSE:EIG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.03. Employers had a return on equity of 9.78% and a net margin of 15.27%. The firm had revenue of $224.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $225.19 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Employers will post 3.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Employers Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. Employers’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.47%.

Institutional Trading of Employers

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Barclays PLC increased its position in Employers by 300.2% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 41,501 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,991,000 after acquiring an additional 31,131 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC boosted its stake in Employers by 27.0% during the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 6,806 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $326,000 after purchasing an additional 1,448 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Employers by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 14,723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $708,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in Employers by 22.9% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 48,982 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,350,000 after purchasing an additional 9,138 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in Employers by 30.1% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 7,371 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $354,000 after purchasing an additional 1,707 shares in the last quarter. 80.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com cut Employers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Employers from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st.

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.