Primerica (NYSE:PRI) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Hold

StockNews.com lowered shares of Primerica (NYSE:PRI) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Thursday.

PRI has been the topic of several other research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Primerica from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Piper Sandler started coverage on Primerica in a research report on Friday, August 30th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $283.00 target price on the stock. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Primerica from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Primerica from $239.00 to $249.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Primerica from $257.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 19th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $288.33.

Primerica Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:PRI opened at $298.61 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $273.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $251.41. Primerica has a 52-week low of $184.76 and a 52-week high of $304.84. The company has a market capitalization of $9.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.81 and a beta of 1.08.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $5.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.81 by $0.87. Primerica had a net margin of 14.95% and a return on equity of 30.93%. The business had revenue of $774.13 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $745.25 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.28 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Primerica will post 19.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Primerica Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. Primerica’s payout ratio is 27.50%.

Primerica declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, November 14th that authorizes the company to repurchase $450.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 4.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.27, for a total transaction of $903,810.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,322 shares in the company, valued at $10,942,728.94. This represents a 7.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, President Peter W. Schneider sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.11, for a total value of $391,665.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 10,259 shares in the company, valued at $2,678,727.49. This represents a 12.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 6,500 shares of company stock valued at $1,803,175. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Primerica by 3.5% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,054 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $279,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its position in Primerica by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 6,083 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,613,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Primerica by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,840 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,549,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Primerica by 56.8% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 149 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Primerica by 45.5% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 192 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Primerica Company Profile

Primerica, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides financial products and services to middle-income households in the United States and Canada. The company operates in four segments: Term Life Insurance; Investment and Savings Products; Senior Health; and Corporate and Other Distributed Products.