Employers (NYSE:EIG) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to "Hold" Rating

Key Points

• Employers has been upgraded from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating by Wall Street Zen, signaling a more positive outlook for the stock.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings miss with $0.48 EPS, falling short of the $0.94 consensus estimate, although revenue increased by 13.5% year-over-year.
• Institutional ownership in Employers has risen significantly, with 80.49% of the stock now held by institutional investors, indicating strong interest from larger financial players.

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Employers (NYSE:EIG - Free Report) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Sunday.

Employers Price Performance

EIG stock traded up $0.2880 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $43.0680. The company had a trading volume of 166,677 shares, compared to its average volume of 238,192. The company has a market capitalization of $1.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.50 and a beta of 0.52. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $44.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $47.61. Employers has a 1-year low of $38.19 and a 1-year high of $54.44.

Employers (NYSE:EIG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.94 by ($0.46). The company had revenue of $246.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $217.17 million. Employers had a net margin of 11.37% and a return on equity of 7.56%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Employers will post 3.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Employers Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 13th. Employers's payout ratio is 31.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP John M. Mutschink sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.12, for a total value of $98,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 19,789 shares of the company's stock, valued at $972,035.68. The trade was a 9.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of EIG. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its stake in Employers by 27.8% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 14,513 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $743,000 after acquiring an additional 3,159 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can acquired a new position in Employers during the fourth quarter worth about $244,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Employers during the fourth quarter worth about $7,451,000. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Employers by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 43,459 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,227,000 after acquiring an additional 1,958 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC raised its stake in Employers by 18.4% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 11,208 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $574,000 after acquiring an additional 1,743 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.