Primerica (NYSE:PRI) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Primerica (NYSE:PRI) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Friday.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on PRI. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Primerica in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $314.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Primerica from $257.00 to $269.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Truist Financial raised 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. Finally, Piper Sandler began coverage on Primerica in a report on Friday, August 30th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $283.00 price objective for the company. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Primerica has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $288.33.

Primerica Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:PRI opened at $301.73 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.07 billion, a PE ratio of 23.05 and a beta of 1.08. Primerica has a 1 year low of $184.76 and a 1 year high of $304.84. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $278.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $254.19.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $5.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.81 by $0.87. Primerica had a return on equity of 30.93% and a net margin of 14.95%. The company had revenue of $774.13 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $745.25 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.28 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Primerica will post 19.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Primerica declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, November 14th that allows the company to repurchase $450.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 4.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Primerica Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Primerica’s dividend payout ratio is 27.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Primerica news, Director John A. Jr. Addison sold 2,000 shares of Primerica stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.85, for a total value of $507,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 15,151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,846,081.35. The trade was a 11.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.27, for a total transaction of $903,810.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,322 shares in the company, valued at $10,942,728.94. This represents a 7.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PRI. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in Primerica during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Primerica in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Primerica in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in Primerica by 85.9% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 145 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Primerica by 56.8% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 149 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.