Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 175,600 shares, a drop of 19.9% from the October 15th total of 219,100 shares. Currently, 0.5% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 130,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.3 days.

Insider Transactions at Primerica

In related news, President Peter W. Schneider sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.11, for a total transaction of $391,665.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 10,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,678,727.49. The trade was a 12.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $10,942,728.94. This represents a 7.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 6,500 shares of company stock worth $1,803,175 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Primerica

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Primerica in the second quarter valued at $30,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in Primerica in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Primerica during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in Primerica by 85.9% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 145 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Primerica by 56.8% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 149 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on PRI shares. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Primerica in a report on Friday, August 30th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $283.00 price objective on the stock. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Primerica from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Primerica from $239.00 to $249.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Primerica from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Primerica in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $314.00 price objective for the company. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $288.33.

Primerica Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of PRI stock opened at $296.82 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $272.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $250.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.90 billion, a PE ratio of 22.68 and a beta of 1.08. Primerica has a 52-week low of $184.76 and a 52-week high of $304.84.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $5.68 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 business had revenue of $774.13 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $745.25 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.28 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Primerica will post 19.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Primerica Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Primerica’s payout ratio is 27.50%.

Primerica announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase 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 purchase up to 4.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.