AQR Capital Management LLC Sells 88,453 Shares of Employers Holdings Inc $EIG

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC has reduced its stake in Employers Holdings Inc by 40.0%, now holding about 0.55% of the company worth approximately $6.7 million.
• Employers reported a missed earnings estimate for the last quarter, with an EPS of $0.48 compared to a consensus estimate of $0.94, although revenue increased by 13.5% year-over-year.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.32, translating to an annual dividend yield of 3.0% and a payout ratio of 31.22%.

AQR Capital Management LLC decreased its position in Employers Holdings Inc (NYSE:EIG - Free Report) by 40.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 132,407 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 88,453 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.55% of Employers worth $6,705,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in EIG. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Employers by 5,792.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 108,724 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,506,000 after acquiring an additional 106,879 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in shares of Employers by 121.1% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 51,742 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,651,000 after purchasing an additional 28,343 shares in the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC bought a new position in Employers in the 1st quarter valued at about $860,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Employers by 439.5% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 50,669 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,566,000 after buying an additional 41,277 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Employers by 158.8% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 21,684 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,098,000 after acquiring an additional 13,305 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.49% of the company's stock.

Employers Price Performance

Shares of EIG stock traded down $0.62 during trading on Monday, reaching $41.19. The company had a trading volume of 218,508 shares, compared to its average volume of 168,847. Employers Holdings Inc has a one year low of $38.19 and a one year high of $54.44. The company has a market capitalization of $968.28 million, a PE ratio of 10.05 and a beta of 0.53. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $43.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $46.84.

Employers (NYSE:EIG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.94 by ($0.46). The firm 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 firm's revenue was up 13.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. Analysts forecast that Employers Holdings Inc will post 3.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Employers Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th were given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 13th. Employers's dividend payout ratio is currently 31.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wall Street Zen lowered Employers from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, August 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $58.00.

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.