Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) Trading Down 8.8% Following Weak Earnings

Shares of Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) traded down 8.8% on Tuesday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The company traded as low as $20.44 and last traded at $20.44. 249,541 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 1,124,055 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.40.

The company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.09. Premier had a net margin of 11.41% and a return on equity of 10.74%. The company had revenue of $248.14 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $232.85 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.50 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year.

Premier Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 15th. Investors of record on Saturday, March 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.40%. Premier’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Premier from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on Premier from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Barclays raised their target price on Premier from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $21.36.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 17,415 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.16, for a total value of $403,331.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 520,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,060,060.48. This represents a 3.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Helen M. Boudreau sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.42, for a total transaction of $53,550.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 20,668 shares in the company, valued at $442,708.56. This represents a 10.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 59,425 shares of company stock worth $1,320,242. 0.96% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Premier

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in Premier by 28.0% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,041 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 446 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lifted its holdings in Premier by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 20,409 shares of the company’s stock valued at $408,000 after acquiring an additional 478 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Premier by 137.6% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,347 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 780 shares in the last quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Premier by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 11,945 shares of the company’s stock worth $239,000 after purchasing an additional 795 shares during the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Premier by 6.7% during the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 18,657 shares of the company’s stock valued at $373,000 after purchasing an additional 1,171 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.41% of the company’s stock.

Premier Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.05 and a beta of 0.43. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $21.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.96.

Premier Company Profile

Premier, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a healthcare improvement company in the United States. It operates in two segments, Supply Chain Services and Performance Services. The Supply Chain Services segment offers its members with an access to a range of products and services, including medical and surgical products, pharmaceuticals, laboratory supplies, capital equipment, information technology, facilities and construction, and food and nutritional products, as well as purchased services, such as clinical engineering and workforce solutions.