Employers (NYSE:EIG) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Employers (NYSE:EIG) was upgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Employers in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Employers from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Employers currently has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

Employers Trading Up 3.5%

Shares of Employers stock opened at $41.59 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $43.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.99. The firm has a market cap of $934.94 million, a P/E ratio of 126.03 and a beta of 0.57. Employers has a 12 month low of $35.73 and a 12 month high of $52.28.

Employers (NYSE:EIG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $170.50 million during 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 21.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.15 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Employers will post 3.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Employers

In other news, EVP Michael Pedraja bought 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was bought at an average price of $39.73 per share, with a total value of $79,460.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 19,830 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $787,845.90. The trade was a 11.22% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Employers

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Employers by 126.2% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 329,479 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,224,000 after purchasing an additional 183,828 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its position in Employers by 69.9% during the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 388,769 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,783,000 after buying an additional 159,956 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its stake 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 during the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Employers by 326.5% in the third quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 141,611 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,016,000 after acquiring an additional 108,411 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in Employers by 125.0% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 181,341 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,703,000 after acquiring an additional 100,751 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.