Employers (NYSE:EIG) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Employers (NYSE:EIG) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Saturday.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Zacks Research upgraded Employers from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Employers in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Employers presently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Employers Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of Employers stock opened at $39.09 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $878.65 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 118.44 and a beta of 0.57. Employers has a 1-year low of $35.73 and a 1-year high of $52.28. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $43.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.00.

Employers (NYSE:EIG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $170.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $217.35 million. Employers had a net margin of 1.26% and a return on equity of 2.10%. Employers’s quarterly revenue was down 21.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.15 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Employers will post 3.63 EPS for the current year.

Employers Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 4th. Employers’s payout ratio is 387.88%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Employers

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of EIG. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,490 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Employers by 4.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 14,685 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $744,000 after purchasing an additional 644 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in Employers by 9.1% in the first 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 last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its holdings in Employers by 738.8% in the first 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 last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in Employers in the second quarter valued at about $719,000. 80.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.