Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI) Declares Dividend Increase – $1.04 Per Share

Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, February 11th,Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a dividend of 1.04 per share by the financial services provider on Friday, March 14th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This is a positive change from Primerica’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90.

Primerica has increased its dividend by an average of 20.6% per year over the last three years. Primerica has a payout ratio of 18.0% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Primerica to earn $22.63 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $4.16 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 18.4%.

Primerica Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of PRI stock opened at $282.30 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $282.05 and its 200 day moving average is $276.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.53 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $5.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.81 by $0.22. Primerica had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 15.14%. On average, equities analysts predict that Primerica will post 20.53 EPS for the current year.

Primerica declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, November 14th that authorizes the company to buyback $450.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 4.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Primerica from $315.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler cut 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. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Primerica from $308.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com lowered Primerica from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Primerica in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $311.00 target price on the stock. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $311.14.

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.