Employers Holdings Inc (NYSE:EIG) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Short interest in Employers Holdings fell sharply in June, dropping 35.3% to 887,024 shares as of June 30. That leaves about 4.9% of the stock sold short, with a short-interest ratio of 2.0 days.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but currently neutral: recent rating changes included upgrades from Wall Street Zen and Weiss Ratings, while Zacks Research downgraded the stock. Overall, the consensus rating remains Hold.
• The company reported a mixed quarter and raised its dividend. Earnings of $0.53 per share missed estimates, while revenue came in below expectations but still rose 2.5% year over year; meanwhile, the quarterly dividend was increased to $0.34 per share.

Employers Holdings Inc (NYSE:EIG - Get Free Report) saw a large decrease in short interest in June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totaling 887,024 shares, a decrease of 35.3% from the June 15th total of 1,370,594 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 433,883 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.0 days. Approximately 4.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on EIG. Wall Street Zen upgraded Employers from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 13th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Employers from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Employers from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Employers has a consensus rating of "Hold".

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Employers by 145.5% during the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 621 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its position 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 worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 363 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Employers by 227.1% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 651 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 452 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Employers by 35.7% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,561 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 411 shares during the period. Finally, Danske Bank A S grew its stake in Employers by 425.0% during the 4th quarter. Danske Bank A S now owns 2,100 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 1,700 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.49% of the company's stock.

Employers Trading Up 0.3%

EIG stock traded up $0.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $49.95. 72,379 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 262,685. Employers has a 12-month low of $35.73 and a 12-month high of $52.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $911.16 million, a P/E ratio of 151.38 and a beta of 0.46. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $46.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Employers (NYSE:EIG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $207.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $213.04 million. Employers had a return on equity of 1.10% and a net margin of 0.95%.The business's revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.87 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Employers will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Employers Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. This is a boost from Employers's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 13th. Employers's payout ratio is currently 412.12%.

Employers Company Profile

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.

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