Short Interest in Employers Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EIG) Increases By 44.4%

Employers Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:EIG - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 412,800 shares, an increase of 44.4% from the February 28th total of 285,900 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 155,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.7 days. Approximately 1.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com lowered Employers from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th.

Employers Price Performance

NYSE EIG traded down $0.63 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $50.41. The stock had a trading volume of 23,064 shares, compared to its average volume of 149,339. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $49.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $50.05. Employers has a 1 year low of $38.67 and a 1 year high of $54.44. The stock has a market cap of $1.23 billion, a PE ratio of 10.70 and a beta of 0.21.

Employers (NYSE:EIG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The financial services provider reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.07. Employers had a net margin of 13.47% and a return on equity of 8.99%. The firm had revenue of $216.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $221.18 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Employers will post 3.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Employers Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.38%. Employers's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.48%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director James R. Kroner sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.90, for a total transaction of $101,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,458 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,295,812.20. This represents a 7.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ann Marie Smith sold 1,385 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.24, for a total value of $70,967.40. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,801 shares in the company, valued at $450,963.24. This trade represents a 13.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,385 shares of company stock valued at $276,267 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Employers

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of EIG. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Employers in the fourth quarter valued at about $8,935,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Employers during the fourth quarter worth approximately $7,451,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Employers by 158.7% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 205,698 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $10,538,000 after buying an additional 126,186 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in shares of Employers in the 4th quarter worth about $4,688,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Employers by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 565,154 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $28,953,000 after purchasing an additional 48,844 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.49% of the company's stock.

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.