Employers Holdings Inc $EIG Position Trimmed by AQR Capital Management LLC

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 lowered its position in Employers Holdings Inc (NYSE:EIG - Free Report) by 40.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & 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.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Employers by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,938,058 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $148,783,000 after purchasing an additional 19,637 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management boosted its stake in Employers by 7.1% during the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,067,976 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $54,082,000 after buying an additional 70,402 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Employers by 8.3% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 611,947 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,989,000 after purchasing an additional 46,793 shares during the period. Boston Partners grew its holdings in shares of Employers by 3.9% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 291,459 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $14,609,000 after purchasing an additional 10,970 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Employers in the first quarter worth approximately $9,814,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.49% of the company's stock.

Employers Trading Up 1.7%

NYSE:EIG traded up $0.72 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $42.15. The stock had a trading volume of 216,308 shares, compared to its average volume of 156,758. Employers Holdings Inc has a 1-year low of $38.19 and a 1-year high of $54.44. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.70. The company has a market cap of $990.83 million, a PE ratio of 10.28 and a beta of 0.53.

Employers (NYSE:EIG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 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 company's revenue was up 13.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.10 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Employers Holdings Inc will post 3.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Employers Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 13th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Employers's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Employers from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, August 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus 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.