StockNews.com Downgrades Primerica (NYSE:PRI) to Hold

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Primerica (NYSE:PRI) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Wednesday morning.

PRI has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Primerica from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Primerica from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective 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, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Primerica from $314.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Primerica presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $303.00.

Primerica Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:PRI opened at $292.90 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $285.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $270.49. The firm has a market cap of $9.77 billion, a PE ratio of 22.38 and a beta of 1.11. Primerica has a 12-month low of $184.76 and a 12-month high of $307.91.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $5.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.81 by $0.87. The business had revenue of $774.13 million during 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 business’s revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.28 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Primerica will post 19.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Primerica Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were issued a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 21st. Primerica’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.50%.

Primerica announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, November 14th that authorizes the company to repurchase $450.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 4.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 3,000 shares of the company’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 owns 36,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,942,728.94. This represents a 7.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Primerica

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PRI. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Primerica in the second quarter worth about $1,349,000. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its position in Primerica by 11.4% in the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 3,009 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $712,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its position in Primerica by 207.9% in the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 548 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $130,000 after acquiring an additional 370 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in Primerica by 28.6% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 8,634 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,043,000 after acquiring an additional 1,920 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its position in Primerica by 19.1% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 51,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,137,000 after acquiring an additional 8,227 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.