Employers Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EIG) Short Interest Up 44.4% in March

Employers Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EIG) saw a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 412,800 shares, an increase of 44.4% from the February 28th total of 285,900 shares. Currently, 1.7% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 155,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.7 days.

Employers Trading Up 1.3 %

Employers stock traded up $0.64 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $51.28. The company had a trading volume of 138,420 shares, compared to its average volume of 132,523. The stock has a market cap of $1.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.89 and a beta of 0.21. Employers has a 1-year low of $38.67 and a 1-year high of $54.44. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $49.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $50.02.

Employers (NYSE:EIG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The financial services provider reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $221.18 million. As a group, analysts forecast that Employers will post 3.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Employers Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. Employers’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.48%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of Employers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Employers

In other news, insider Ann Marie Smith sold 1,385 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.24, for a total value of $70,967.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 8,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $450,963.24. This represents a 13.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director James R. Kroner sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.90, for a total value of $101,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 25,458 shares in the company, valued at $1,295,812.20. This represents a 7.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,385 shares of company stock worth $276,267 in the last three months. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Employers by 312.0% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 482 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 365 shares during the period. Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Employers during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in Employers by 50.1% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 596 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Employers during the 4th quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, FMR LLC raised its position in Employers by 15.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,520 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.49% of the company’s stock.

Employers Company Profile

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.