Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) Given New $24.00 Price Target at Barclays

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) had its price objective hoisted by Barclays from $20.00 to $24.00 in a research note published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Premier from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on Premier from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. StockNews.com lowered Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Premier from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Benchmark lowered Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $21.36.

Premier Stock Performance

NASDAQ PINC opened at $22.88 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.82, a PEG ratio of 11.00 and a beta of 0.40. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $20.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.73. Premier has a 52 week low of $17.95 and a 52 week high of $23.43.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.09. Premier had a return on equity of 10.74% and a net margin of 11.41%. The firm had revenue of $248.14 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $232.85 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.50 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Premier will post 1.04 EPS for the current year.

Premier Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, December 1st will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.67%. Premier’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 1,264 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.01, for a total transaction of $25,292.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 558,143 shares in the company, valued at $11,168,441.43. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Premier news, General Counsel David L. Klatsky sold 1,319 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.96, for a total value of $26,327.24. Following the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 102,467 shares in the company, valued at $2,045,241.32. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 1,264 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.01, for a total value of $25,292.64. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 558,143 shares in the company, valued at $11,168,441.43. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 135,441 shares of company stock worth $2,738,548 in the last ninety days. 0.96% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Premier

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PINC. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp purchased a new stake in Premier during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Premier by 137.6% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,347 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 780 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Premier by 265.2% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 1,554 shares during the period. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Premier by 50.0% during the 1st quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,951 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 650 shares during the period. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Premier during the 2nd quarter valued at about $47,000. 74.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Premier Company Profile

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.