Employers (NYSE:EIG) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Employers (NYSE:EIG) from “sell” to “hold”, while Zacks Research also moved the stock to “hold”, leaving the company with a consensus Hold rating.
• Employers reported Q1 earnings of $0.53 per share, missing estimates of $0.55, and revenue of $207.6 million, below expectations; revenue still rose 2.5% year over year.
• The stock was trading around $42.03, near its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, with institutional ownership at 80.49% and recent insider activity including both a purchase and a sale of shares.

Employers (NYSE:EIG - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Separately, Zacks Research lowered shares of Employers from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Employers presently has a consensus rating of "Hold".

Employers Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of Employers stock opened at $42.03 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $766.65 million, a PE ratio of 127.37 and a beta of 0.48. 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 firm's 50 day moving average is $41.23 and its 200 day moving average is $41.63. Employers has a 1 year low of $35.73 and a 1 year high of $50.37.

Employers (NYSE:EIG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.55 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $207.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $213.04 million. Employers had a net margin of 0.95% and a return on equity of 1.10%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.87 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Employers will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Michael Pedraja acquired 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $39.73 per share, for a total transaction of $79,460.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 19,830 shares of the company's stock, valued at $787,845.90. The trade was a 11.22% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Ann Marie Smith sold 5,000 shares of Employers stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.29, for a total value of $196,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 8,704 shares in the company, valued at approximately $341,980.16. This represents a 36.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Employers

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Employers by 2.0% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 109,252 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,495,000 after acquiring an additional 2,123 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in Employers by 6,450.0% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 5,240 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $216,000 after acquiring an additional 5,160 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Employers by 14.9% in the first quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 12,449 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $512,000 after acquiring an additional 1,619 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in Employers in the first quarter valued at approximately $411,000. 80.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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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