Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) Downgraded to Hold at Benchmark

Benchmark lowered shares of Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Monday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on PINC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Premier from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Premier from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Premier from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Premier from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group downgraded Premier from a buy rating to a hold rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $27.00 to $21.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $22.19.

Premier Stock Performance

Premier stock opened at $19.85 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm has a market cap of $2.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.02, a P/E/G ratio of 6.62 and a beta of 0.42. Premier has a 1-year low of $17.95 and a 1-year high of $24.27. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $19.52 and a 200-day moving average of $20.14.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $350.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $308.88 million. Premier had a return on equity of 11.71% and a net margin of 6.01%. Premier’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.70 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Premier will post 1.96 EPS for the current year.

Premier Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, September 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. Premier’s dividend payout ratio is 131.25%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 18,771 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.12, for a total value of $396,443.52. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 543,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,487,738.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Premier news, CFO Craig S. Mckasson sold 30,000 shares of Premier stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total value of $600,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 288,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,762,200. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 18,771 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.12, for a total transaction of $396,443.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 543,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,487,738.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 113,429 shares of company stock worth $2,245,068. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Premier

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Premier by 22.4% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,289 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,000 after buying an additional 601 shares in the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Premier by 50.0% during the first quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,951 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 650 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in Premier by 2.0% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 33,542 shares of the company’s stock valued at $626,000 after purchasing an additional 653 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Premier by 71.7% in the fourth quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,660 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 693 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Comerica Bank boosted its holdings in Premier by 0.9% in the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 77,422 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,711,000 after purchasing an additional 728 shares during the last quarter. 74.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Premier

Premier, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a healthcare improvement company in the United States. It operates in two segments, Supply Chain Services and Performance Services. The Supply Chain Services segment offers its members with an access to a range of products and services, including medical and surgical products, pharmaceuticals, laboratory supplies, capital equipment, information technology, facilities and construction, and food and nutritional products, as well as purchased services, such as clinical engineering and workforce solutions.