Primerica (NYSE:PRI) Trading Down 2.2% on Analyst Downgrade

Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI) shares fell 2.2% during mid-day trading on Friday after Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on the stock from $320.00 to $315.00. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has a market perform rating on the stock. Primerica traded as low as $271.13 and last traded at $272.33. 23,832 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 132,858 shares. The stock had previously closed at $278.45.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the stock. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Primerica from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com lowered Primerica from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Piper Sandler reduced 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. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on Primerica from $314.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $303.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was 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 directly owns 36,322 shares of the company’s stock, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Primerica

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Primerica by 20.2% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 11,976 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,251,000 after purchasing an additional 2,010 shares in the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Primerica during the fourth quarter worth $228,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Primerica by 14.9% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,128 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $306,000 after buying an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Forthright Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Primerica in the 3rd quarter valued at $202,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Primerica in the 3rd quarter valued at $336,000. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Primerica Trading Down 2.6 %

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $286.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $267.77. The company has a market capitalization of $9.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.72 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, beating the consensus estimate of $4.81 by $0.87. The firm had revenue of $774.13 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $745.25 million. Primerica had a return on equity of 30.93% and a net margin of 14.95%. The company’s revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.28 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Primerica, Inc. will post 19.32 EPS for the current year.

Primerica Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were issued a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 21st. Primerica’s payout ratio is 27.50%.

Primerica declared that its board has initiated a share buyback 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 often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.