UBS Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Primoris Services (NASDAQ:PRIM) Stock

Primoris Services (NASDAQ:PRIM) had its price objective increased by UBS Group from $75.00 to $100.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the construction company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on PRIM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Primoris Services in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $71.00 price target for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Primoris Services from $51.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Primoris Services from $60.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.50.

Primoris Services Price Performance

Shares of PRIM stock opened at $78.07 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $62.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $56.04. Primoris Services has a one year low of $29.14 and a one year high of $83.40. The company has a market capitalization of $4.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.85 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.38.

Primoris Services (NASDAQ:PRIM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The construction company reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.20. Primoris Services had a net margin of 2.68% and a return on equity of 15.23%. The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.02 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Primoris Services will post 3.45 EPS for the current year.

Primoris Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This is a boost from Primoris Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.41%. Primoris Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.60%.

Insider Activity at Primoris Services

In related news, Director Stephen C. Cook sold 4,018 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.53, for a total transaction of $315,533.54. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 7,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $621,015.24. This represents a 33.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Thomas Edward Mccormick sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.28, for a total transaction of $1,219,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,989,779.20. This represents a 19.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 75,409 shares of company stock valued at $4,762,468 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PRIM. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Primoris Services in the first quarter worth $204,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Primoris Services in the first quarter worth $255,000. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Primoris Services by 8.5% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 9,546 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $406,000 after acquiring an additional 751 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Primoris Services by 26.0% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 19,099 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $813,000 after acquiring an additional 3,940 shares during the period. Finally, PAX Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Primoris Services in the first quarter worth $757,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.82% of the company’s stock.

Primoris Services Company Profile

Primoris Services Corporation, a specialty contractor company, provides a range of specialty construction, fabrication, maintenance, replacement, and engineering services in the United States and Canada. The company operates through Utilities and Energy/Renewables segments. The Utilities segment offers installation and maintenance services for new and existing natural gas distribution systems, electric utility distribution and transmission systems, and communications systems.