Primerica (NYSE:PRI) Cut to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Primerica (NYSE:PRI) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Primerica from $314.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Primerica from $313.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on Primerica from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.33.

Primerica Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PRI opened at $278.33 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $9.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.26 and a beta of 1.11. Primerica has a 52-week low of $184.76 and a 52-week high of $307.91. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $286.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $267.23.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $5.68 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.28 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Primerica will post 19.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Primerica announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share 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 repurchase 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.

Primerica Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were paid a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.29%. Primerica’s dividend payout ratio is 27.50%.

Insider Activity at Primerica

In other news, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 3,000 shares of Primerica stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,322 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,942,728.94. This trade represents a 7.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Primerica in the 4th quarter worth about $228,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Primerica by 14.9% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,128 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $306,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the period. Forthright Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Primerica in the third quarter worth approximately $202,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Primerica during the 3rd quarter valued at $336,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Primerica by 21.3% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 5,632 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,493,000 after buying an additional 990 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.