Primerica (NYSE:PRI) Stock Price Up 0.5% – Should You Buy?

Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI)’s share price rose 0.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $282.51 and last traded at $282.51. Approximately 12,224 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 92% from the average daily volume of 152,114 shares. The stock had previously closed at $281.17.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler started coverage on Primerica in a report on Friday, August 30th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $283.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Primerica from $314.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. StockNews.com raised shares of Primerica from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Primerica from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Primerica from $257.00 to $269.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Primerica currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $293.50.

Primerica Trading Down 1.2 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $287.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $260.86. The firm has a market cap of $9.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.46 and a beta of 1.09.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI) last released its quarterly 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 analyst estimates of $745.25 million. Primerica had a net margin of 14.95% and a return on equity of 30.93%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.28 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Primerica, Inc. will post 19.32 EPS for the current year.

Primerica Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were issued a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 21st. Primerica’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.50%.

Primerica declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase 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 reacquire up to 4.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Primerica

In other news, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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. The trade was a 7.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Primerica

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. raised its holdings in Primerica by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,237,164 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $292,688,000 after acquiring an additional 17,095 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Primerica by 3.9% in 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 lifted its position in Primerica by 30,726.7% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 680,961 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $161,102,000 after purchasing an additional 678,752 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Primerica by 3.5% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 637,753 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $150,880,000 after buying an additional 21,836 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in Primerica by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 121,349 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,176,000 after buying an additional 5,323 shares during the period. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.