Employers Holdings Inc $EIG Shares Acquired by Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.

Key Points

• Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. has increased its stake in Employers Holdings Inc by 69.9%, owning 41,118 shares valued at $2,082,000 as of the end of the latest quarter.
• Employers Holdings recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.32 per share, equating to an annualized dividend of $1.28 and a yield of 3.1%.
• Wall Street analysts downgraded Employers from a "hold" to a "sell" rating, reflecting changing market sentiments surrounding the company.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its position in Employers Holdings Inc (NYSE:EIG - Free Report) by 69.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 41,118 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 16,913 shares during the quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. owned about 0.17% of Employers worth $2,082,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Employers during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Employers during the fourth quarter worth $48,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Employers by 16.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,147 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $109,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Employers during the fourth quarter worth $137,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in Employers by 8.0% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,895 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $147,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.49% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised Employers from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $58.00.

Employers Trading Up 1.4%

NYSE:EIG traded up $0.5750 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $42.5250. The company had a trading volume of 25,685 shares, compared to its average volume of 168,702. The firm has a market capitalization of $999.76 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.37 and a beta of 0.52. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $45.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.72. Employers Holdings Inc has a 12-month low of $38.19 and a 12-month high of $54.44.

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

Employers Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Employers news, EVP John M. Mutschink sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.12, for a total transaction of $98,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 19,789 shares of the company's stock, valued at $972,035.68. This represents a 9.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.