Azarias Capital Management L.P. Invests $2.98 Million in Employers Holdings Inc $EIG

Key Points

• Azarias Capital Management opened a new position in Employers Holdings (NYSE:EIG), buying 69,108 shares valued at about $2.98 million, which is roughly 1.3% of Azarias's portfolio and about 0.31% of Employers' shares.
• Employers reported Q4 earnings of $0.66 EPS, beating estimates by $0.25, but revenue fell 21.3% year-over-year to $170.5 million, and the stock trades at a high P/E of about 126.7.
• The company paid a quarterly dividend of $0.32 (annualized $1.28; ~3.1% yield), while insiders made mixed moves—EVP Michael Pedraja bought 2,000 shares and Ann Marie Smith sold 5,000 shares—and institutional investors own about 80.5% of the stock.

Azarias Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Employers Holdings Inc (NYSE:EIG - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 69,108 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,983,000. Employers comprises approximately 1.3% of Azarias Capital Management L.P.'s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Azarias Capital Management L.P. owned about 0.31% of Employers at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Aquatic Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Employers by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 22,623 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $961,000 after buying an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its position in shares of Employers by 133.5% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 635 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 363 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Employers by 35.7% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,561 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 411 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in shares of Employers by 26.8% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,718 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $128,000 after buying an additional 575 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its position in shares of Employers by 5.7% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 11,722 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $553,000 after buying an additional 629 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.49% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on EIG. Zacks Research raised Employers from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Employers in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Employers from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Employers currently has an average rating of "Buy".

Insider Transactions at Employers

In related news, EVP Michael Pedraja purchased 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $39.73 per share, with a total value of $79,460.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president directly owned 19,830 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $787,845.90. The trade was a 11.22% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Ann Marie Smith sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 of the company's stock, valued at $341,980.16. The trade was a 36.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Employers Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EIG opened at $41.80 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.61. Employers Holdings Inc has a 1-year low of $35.73 and a 1-year high of $50.37. The firm has a market cap of $814.26 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 126.67 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 0.02.

Employers (NYSE:EIG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.25. Employers had a return on equity of 2.10% and a net margin of 1.26%.The business had revenue of $170.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $217.35 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.15 earnings per share. Employers's revenue was down 21.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Employers Holdings Inc will post 3.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Employers Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th were issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 4th. Employers's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 387.88%.

Employers 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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