Employers (NYSE:EIG) Stock Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Employers Holdings Inc (NYSE:EIG)’s stock price crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $42.33 and traded as high as $45.99. Employers shares last traded at $45.62, with a volume of 339,800 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EIG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research upgraded Employers from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Employers in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Employers presently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Employers Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $1.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.03 and a beta of 0.58. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $41.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.33.

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

Employers Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 12th were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 12th. Employers’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Michael Pedraja bought 5,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $37.09 per share, for a total transaction of $203,995.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 17,830 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $661,314.70. This represents a 44.61% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of EIG. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Employers by 35.7% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,561 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 411 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Employers by 23.2% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 100,553 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,271,000 after purchasing an additional 18,944 shares during the last quarter. Tweedy Browne Co LLC boosted its stake in shares of Employers by 105.3% during the third quarter. Tweedy Browne Co LLC now owns 19,364 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $823,000 after purchasing an additional 9,930 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Employers by 2.0% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 228,813 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,720,000 after purchasing an additional 4,417 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caxton Associates LLP bought a new stake in shares of Employers during the third quarter worth about $1,464,000. 80.49% of the stock is currently 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.