Teacher Retirement System of Texas Acquires 27,299 Shares of Employers Holdings Inc $EIG

Key Points

• Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in Employers Holdings (NYSE: EIG) by 24.4% in Q4, buying 27,299 shares to hold 139,159 shares worth about $6.01 million (roughly 0.62% of the company).
• Employers beat EPS expectations ($0.66 vs. $0.41) despite revenue falling 21.3% year-over-year to $170.5 million, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.32 (annualized $1.28, yield ~3.1%) with a notably high payout ratio of 387.88%.
• Insider activity was mixed: EVP Michael Pedraja bought 2,000 shares at $39.73 while Christina Ozuna sold 4,500 shares at $39.88; institutional investors hold about 80.49% of the stock and insiders own 1.50%.

Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its holdings in shares of Employers Holdings Inc (NYSE:EIG - Free Report) by 24.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 139,159 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 27,299 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned about 0.62% of Employers worth $6,007,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EIG. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in Employers by 32.8% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 6,037 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $306,000 after purchasing an additional 1,490 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in Employers by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 14,685 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $744,000 after purchasing an additional 644 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in Employers by 9.1% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 67,992 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,443,000 after purchasing an additional 5,696 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in Employers by 738.8% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 40,448 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,048,000 after purchasing an additional 35,626 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Employers by 8.5% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 81,609 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,850,000 after purchasing an additional 6,410 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.49% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Employers

In other news, EVP Michael Pedraja purchased 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $39.73 per share, with a total value of $79,460.00. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president directly owned 19,830 shares in the company, valued at approximately $787,845.90. The trade was a 11.22% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Christina M. Ozuna sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total value of $179,460.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 15,008 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $598,519.04. The trade was a 23.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Employers Trading Up 0.0%

Employers stock opened at $41.86 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $41.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The stock has a market cap of $779.89 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 126.85 and a beta of 0.48. Employers Holdings Inc has a 12 month low of $35.73 and a 12 month high of $50.37.

Employers (NYSE:EIG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $170.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $217.35 million. Employers had a return on equity of 2.10% and a net margin of 1.26%.The company's revenue for the quarter was down 21.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.15 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Employers Holdings Inc will post 2.17 EPS for the current year.

Employers Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th were issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Employers's dividend payout ratio is 387.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on EIG shares. Zacks Research upgraded Employers from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Employers from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Employers in a report on Monday, December 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Employers has an average rating of "Buy".

About Employers

Employers Holdings, Inc NYSE: EIG is a publicly traded property and casualty insurance holding company headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa. Through its subsidiaries, Employers Mutual Casualty Company and Employers Preferred Insurance Company, the firm specializes in providing workers' compensation coverage alongside an array of commercial insurance products. Its service offerings include general liability, commercial auto, businessowners policies and umbrella coverages, tailored to meet the risk-management needs of small and mid-sized businesses across multiple industries.

The company markets its insurance solutions primarily through a network of independent agencies and brokers, leveraging local market expertise to underwrite policies that address the unique exposures faced by clients in manufacturing, construction, healthcare, retail and service sectors.

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