Employers Holdings Inc $EIG Shares Sold by Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc.

Key Points

• Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. reduced its stake in Employers Holdings Inc by 4.1%, selling 9,935 shares, and now holds 0.98% of the company, valued at $11.9 million.
• Employers Holdings reported earnings of $0.48 per share, significantly missing expectations, while revenue increased by 13.5% year-over-year to $246.3 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.32 per share, representing a yield of 3.0% and a payout ratio of 31.22%.

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. cut its holdings in Employers Holdings Inc (NYSE:EIG - Free Report) by 4.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 234,905 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 9,935 shares during the quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned approximately 0.98% of Employers worth $11,896,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EIG. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Employers in the first quarter worth about $9,814,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position 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 valued at $5,506,000 after buying an additional 106,879 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in shares of Employers during the fourth quarter valued at about $4,688,000. LSV Asset Management lifted its position in shares of Employers by 7.1% during the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,067,976 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $54,082,000 after buying an additional 70,402 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Employers by 8.3% during 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 buying an additional 46,793 shares during the last quarter. 80.49% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Employers Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of EIG traded down $0.12 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $42.23. 24,188 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 167,966. Employers Holdings Inc has a 1-year low of $38.19 and a 1-year high of $54.44. The company has a market capitalization of $992.78 million, a PE ratio of 10.30 and a beta of 0.53. The business has a 50 day moving average of $43.73 and a 200 day moving average of $46.96.

Employers (NYSE:EIG - Get Free Report) last posted 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). Employers had a net margin of 11.37% and a return on equity of 7.56%. The company had revenue of $246.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $217.17 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.10 EPS. The business's revenue was up 13.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Employers Holdings Inc will post 3.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Employers Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

About Employers

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.