Employers (NYSE:EIG) Announces Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.18 EPS

Employers (NYSE:EIG - Get Free Report) released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.18, Zacks reports. Employers had a net margin of 13.47% and a return on equity of 8.99%. The company had revenue of $202.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $216.81 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.67 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

Employers Stock Performance

NYSE:EIG traded up $0.96 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $49.22. 90,654 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 136,369. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.45 and a beta of 0.56. Employers has a 12 month low of $40.57 and a 12 month high of $54.44. The company has a fifty day moving average of $49.05 and a 200 day moving average of $50.04.

Employers Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This is a boost from Employers's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.60%. Employers's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.07%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Employers

In other Employers news, EVP Michael Pedraja purchased 3,050 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $48.59 per share, with a total value of $148,199.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,330 shares in the company, valued at $356,164.70. This trade represents a 71.26 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ann Marie Smith sold 1,385 shares of Employers stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 13.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,385 shares of company stock worth $276,267. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.