Employers Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EIG) Short Interest Up 37.1% in December

Employers Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EIG) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 483,500 shares, a growth of 37.1% from the November 30th total of 352,700 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 119,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.0 days. Approximately 2.0% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Employers Stock Performance

Employers stock remained flat at $50.89 during trading hours on Monday. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 68,729 shares, compared to its average volume of 129,679. Employers has a 52-week low of $38.38 and a 52-week high of $54.44. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $51.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $48.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.53 and a beta of 0.26.

Employers (NYSE:EIG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $224.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $225.19 million. Employers had a return on equity of 9.78% and a net margin of 15.27%. Equities research analysts forecast that Employers will post 3.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Employers Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.36%. Employers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EIG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Employers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Employers from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st.

Institutional Trading of Employers

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EIG. FMR LLC lifted its position in Employers by 15.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,520 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in Employers by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 14,723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $708,000 after buying an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its stake in Employers by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 8,225 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $351,000 after acquiring an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Employers by 45.5% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,145 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Isthmus Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Employers by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 81,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. 80.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.