Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the nine research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $21.36.

PINC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Premier from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Premier from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 9th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Benchmark lowered shares of Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Premier from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th.

Premier Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of Premier stock opened at $23.13 on Thursday. Premier has a twelve month low of $17.95 and a twelve month high of $23.43. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.33 and a beta of 0.40.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.09. Premier had a net margin of 11.41% and a return on equity of 10.74%. The business had revenue of $248.14 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $232.85 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.50 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Premier will post 1.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Premier Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, December 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Premier’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.77%.

Insider Activity at Premier

In related news, insider Andy Brailo sold 4,390 shares of Premier stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.51, for a total transaction of $90,038.90. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 104,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,141,449.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Craig S. Mckasson sold 10,000 shares of Premier stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.41, for a total transaction of $204,100.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 263,699 shares in the company, valued at $5,382,096.59. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Andy Brailo sold 4,390 shares of Premier stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.51, for a total transaction of $90,038.90. Following the sale, the insider now owns 104,410 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,141,449.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 125,441 shares of company stock valued at $2,538,548. 0.96% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Premier

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Premier by 50.0% during the 1st quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,951 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 650 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Premier by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 33,542 shares of the company’s stock worth $626,000 after purchasing an additional 653 shares during the period. Comerica Bank lifted its position in shares of Premier by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 77,422 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,711,000 after purchasing an additional 728 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Premier by 137.6% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,347 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 780 shares during the period. Finally, Impact Partnership Wealth LLC lifted its position 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 period. 74.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Premier

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.