Primerica (NYSE:PRI) Stock Price Up 1.1% – Should You Buy?

Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI) shares shot up 1.1% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $292.52 and last traded at $292.02. 8,560 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 94% from the average session volume of 133,551 shares. The stock had previously closed at $288.74.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on PRI shares. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Primerica from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Primerica from $314.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Primerica from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of Primerica from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Primerica from $313.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $303.00.

Primerica Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $285.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $269.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.74 billion, a PE ratio of 22.30 and a beta of 1.11.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $5.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $745.25 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.28 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Primerica, Inc. will post 19.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Primerica Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were paid a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 21st. Primerica’s payout ratio is 27.50%.

Primerica announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, November 14th that authorizes the company to repurchase $450.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 4.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.27, for a total transaction of $903,810.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 36,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,942,728.94. This trade represents a 7.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Primerica

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Primerica by 3.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 696,839 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $184,807,000 after purchasing an additional 25,951 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in Primerica by 30,726.7% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 680,961 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $161,102,000 after buying an additional 678,752 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Primerica by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 637,753 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $150,880,000 after acquiring an additional 21,836 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in shares of Primerica by 4.6% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 121,349 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,176,000 after purchasing an additional 5,323 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Primerica by 8.7% during the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 108,399 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,742,000 after purchasing an additional 8,641 shares during the period. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Primerica

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.