Primerica (NYSE:PRI) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by StockNews.com

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

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on PRI. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Primerica from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Primerica from $239.00 to $249.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Primerica in a report on Friday, August 30th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $283.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Primerica from $257.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Primerica in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $314.00 target price on the stock. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Primerica currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $288.33.

Primerica Price Performance

Shares of PRI stock traded up $0.03 during trading on Thursday, hitting $296.85. 30,383 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 154,166. Primerica has a 52-week low of $184.76 and a 52-week high of $304.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.74 and a beta of 1.08. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $272.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $250.55.

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

Primerica declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, November 14th that allows the company to buyback $450.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 4.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Primerica Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.21%. Primerica’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.50%.

Insider Activity

In other Primerica news, President Peter W. Schneider sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.11, for a total transaction of $391,665.00. Following the transaction, the president now owns 10,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,678,727.49. This trade represents a 12.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.27, for a total value of $903,810.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,942,728.94. The trade was a 7.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 6,500 shares of company stock worth $1,803,175. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Primerica

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PRI. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Primerica in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in Primerica during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Primerica during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Primerica by 85.9% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 145 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Primerica by 56.8% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 149 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

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.