Norges Bank Makes New $3.86 Million Investment in Employers Holdings Inc $EIG

Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Employers Holdings Inc (NYSE:EIG) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 81,796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,859,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 0.35% of Employers as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Employers during the second quarter worth $39,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in Employers by 8.0% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,895 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $147,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. EMC Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Employers in the 2nd quarter valued at about $234,000. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. bought a new stake in shares of Employers in the second quarter valued at about $279,000. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS boosted its position in shares of Employers by 4.3% during the second quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 6,172 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $291,000 after buying an additional 257 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.49% of the company’s stock.

Employers Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE EIG opened at $39.88 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $40.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.08. Employers Holdings Inc has a 52 week low of $35.73 and a 52 week high of $53.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $896.50 million, a PE ratio of 15.76 and a beta of 0.60.

Employers (NYSE:EIG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported ($1.10) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.61 by ($1.71). Employers had a return on equity of 3.38% and a net margin of 6.91%.The company had revenue of $239.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $216.60 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.81 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Employers Holdings Inc will post 3.63 EPS for the current year.

Employers Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 12th. Employers’s dividend payout ratio is 50.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on EIG shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Employers from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, August 25th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Employers in a research note on Monday. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Employers from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce”.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Michael Pedraja purchased 5,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $37.09 per share, for a total transaction of $203,995.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president directly owned 17,830 shares in the company, valued at $661,314.70. The trade was a 44.61% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.