Employers (NYSE:EIG) Cut to “Sell” at Wall Street Zen

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

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Employers in a report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research upgraded Employers from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Employers has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

Employers Stock Performance

Shares of EIG stock opened at $39.69 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $43.20 and a 200-day moving average of $41.93. The company has a market cap of $773.14 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 120.27 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. Employers has a 52 week low of $35.73 and a 52 week high of $51.48.

Employers (NYSE:EIG) last released 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 earned $1.15 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Employers will post 3.63 earnings per share 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 given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. Employers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 387.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Employers news, EVP Michael Pedraja acquired 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $39.73 per share, for a total transaction of $79,460.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president owned 19,830 shares in the company, valued at approximately $787,845.90. This represents a 11.22% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Boston Partners boosted its stake in Employers by 21.8% during the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 355,041 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,252,000 after purchasing an additional 63,582 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in Employers during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,187,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Employers by 80.5% in the third quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 132,289 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,620,000 after purchasing an additional 58,980 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its stake in shares of Employers by 39.7% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 66,116 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,809,000 after purchasing an additional 18,793 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in shares of Employers in the third quarter valued at approximately $908,000. 80.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.