Primerica (NYSE:PRI) Trading Up 0.4% – Here’s What Happened

Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI)’s share price shot up 0.4% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $281.30 and last traded at $280.10. 18,021 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 138,092 shares. The stock had previously closed at $278.93.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on PRI. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Primerica from $314.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Primerica from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Primerica from $313.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. StockNews.com downgraded Primerica from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Primerica in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $311.00 price target for the company. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $304.14.

Primerica Stock Performance

The business has a 50 day moving average of $282.68 and a 200-day moving average of $275.45. The company has a market capitalization of $9.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.77 and a beta of 1.11.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $5.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.81 by $0.22. Primerica had a net margin of 14.95% and a return on equity of 30.93%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Primerica, Inc. will post 19.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Primerica Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This is a positive change from Primerica’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. Primerica’s payout ratio is presently 27.50%.

Primerica announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, November 14th that permits the company to buyback $450.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 4.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Primerica

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PRI. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Primerica by 3.5% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,054 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $279,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Creative Planning increased its position in shares of Primerica by 0.7% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 6,083 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,613,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Primerica by 0.7% in the third quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,840 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,549,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Primerica by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,729 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,012,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Primerica by 56.8% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 149 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Primerica Company Profile

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.