84,823 Employers Holdings Inc $EIG Shares Sold by Azarias Capital Management L.P.

Key Points

• Azarias Capital Management cut its Employers Holdings stake by 64.2% in the third quarter, selling 84,823 shares and retaining 47,336 shares worth approximately $2.26 million.
• Employers reported quarterly EPS of $0.70, exceeding the $0.57 consensus estimate, while revenue of $220.2 million also topped expectations but declined 10.6% year over year.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with a $59 price target; the stock recently traded near $49.94 and pays a quarterly dividend of $0.34 per share, yielding about 2.7%.

Azarias Capital Management L.P. cut its stake in shares of Employers Holdings Inc (NYSE:EIG - Free Report) by 64.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 47,336 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 84,823 shares during the quarter. Employers comprises about 2.1% of Azarias Capital Management L.P.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Azarias Capital Management L.P. owned approximately 0.26% of Employers worth $2,260,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Employers by 22.9% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,672 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Employers by 8.8% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,035 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $240,000 after buying an additional 407 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. increased 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 buying an additional 452 shares in the last quarter. Nykredit A S purchased a new position in Employers in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Employers in the second quarter valued at about $35,000. 80.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on EIG shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Employers in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Employers from $49.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Employers presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $59.00.

Employers Price Performance

NYSE:EIG traded up $0.18 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $49.94. 108,815 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 233,734. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.39. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $48.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.76. Employers Holdings Inc has a 1 year low of $35.73 and a 1 year high of $52.59. The company has a market cap of $896.87 million, a PE ratio of 72.37 and a beta of 0.46.

Employers (NYSE:EIG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $220.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $203.51 million. Employers had a net margin of 0.91% and a return on equity of 1.30%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.48 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Employers Holdings Inc will post 2.23 EPS for the current year.

Employers Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 12th were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 12th. Employers's payout ratio is currently 197.10%.

About Employers

Employers Holdings, Inc NYSE: EIG is an insurance holding company that specializes in workers' compensation coverage for small and midsize businesses. Through its insurance subsidiaries, the company provides policies that help employers cover medical expenses, wage replacement, and other costs associated with workplace injuries.

The company focuses primarily on small businesses in lower- to moderate-hazard industries, including retail, professional services, hospitality, construction, and other commercial sectors.

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