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

Employers (NYSE:EIG) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report released on Saturday.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Employers in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Employers from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Employers has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

Employers Stock Down 0.9%

EIG opened at $40.43 on Friday. Employers has a one year low of $35.73 and a one year high of $51.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $787.58 million, a P/E ratio of 122.52 and a beta of 0.57. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $43.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.96.

Employers (NYSE:EIG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $170.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $217.35 million. Employers had a net margin of 1.26% and a return on equity of 2.10%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 21.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.15 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Employers will post 3.63 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Employers

In other Employers news, EVP Michael Pedraja bought 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were bought at an average price of $39.73 per share, for a total transaction of $79,460.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 19,830 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $787,845.90. This trade represents a 11.22% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Employers by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 627,307 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,596,000 after purchasing an additional 15,360 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Employers by 69.9% during the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 388,769 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,783,000 after buying an additional 159,956 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in Employers by 21.8% during the second quarter. Boston Partners now owns 355,041 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,252,000 after buying an additional 63,582 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Employers by 126.2% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 329,479 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,224,000 after buying an additional 183,828 shares during the period. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its holdings in Employers by 93.1% in the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 264,078 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,459,000 after buying an additional 127,330 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.49% of the company’s stock.

Employers Company Profile

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.