Primerica (NYSE:PRI) Trading Up 0.1% – Here’s Why

Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI)’s share price was up 0.1% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $288.05 and last traded at $282.77. Approximately 15,854 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 135,889 shares. The stock had previously closed at $282.56.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PRI. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Primerica from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Primerica from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Primerica from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Primerica from $314.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Primerica from $313.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $303.00.

Primerica Trading Up 1.1 %

The company has a fifty day moving average of $286.04 and a 200-day moving average of $268.83. The stock has a market cap of $9.74 billion, a PE ratio of 22.30 and a beta of 1.11.

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. Primerica had a net margin of 14.95% and a return on equity of 30.93%. The company had revenue of $774.13 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $745.25 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.28 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Primerica, Inc. will post 19.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Primerica Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were given a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. Primerica’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.50%.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.27, for a total transaction of $903,810.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,322 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,942,728.94. This represents a 7.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PRI. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Primerica by 30,726.7% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 680,961 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $161,102,000 after purchasing an additional 678,752 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its holdings in Primerica by 2,986.9% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 32,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,595,000 after purchasing an additional 31,064 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in 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 during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Primerica by 359,742.9% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 25,189 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,679,000 after purchasing an additional 25,182 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 21,836 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.