Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Sells 116,163 Shares of Employers Holdings Inc $EIG

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has reduced its stake in Employers Holdings Inc by 45.1%, now holding 141,136 shares valued at approximately $7.15 million.
• Employers Holdings reported earnings per share of $0.48, which was significantly below the consensus estimate of $0.94, even though its revenue increased by 13.5% year-over-year.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.32, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 3.1%, and has a payout ratio of 31.22%.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lowered its holdings in Employers Holdings Inc (NYSE:EIG - Free Report) by 45.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 141,136 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 116,163 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned about 0.59% of Employers worth $7,147,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Employers by 5,792.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 108,724 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,506,000 after purchasing an additional 106,879 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in shares of Employers by 121.1% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 51,742 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,651,000 after buying an additional 28,343 shares during the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Employers in the first quarter worth $860,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Employers by 439.5% in the first 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in Employers by 158.8% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 21,684 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,098,000 after purchasing an additional 13,305 shares during the last quarter. 80.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Employers Stock Performance

Employers stock traded down $0.32 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $42.47. 56,433 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 168,951. Employers Holdings Inc has a fifty-two week low of $38.19 and a fifty-two week high of $54.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $998.47 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.36 and a beta of 0.53. The firm's 50 day moving average is $43.23 and its 200-day moving average is $46.63.

Employers (NYSE:EIG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 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 business's revenue was up 13.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.10 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Employers Holdings Inc will post 3.63 EPS for the current 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 issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 13th. Employers's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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 research note on Monday, August 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Employers presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $58.00.

Employers 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.