Primerica (NYSE:PRI) Trading 0.2% Higher – Here’s Why

Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI)’s stock price traded up 0.2% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $276.56 and last traded at $276.55. 15,758 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 128,478 shares. The stock had previously closed at $275.97.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PRI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler dropped 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. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Primerica from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Primerica from $314.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Primerica from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Primerica has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $296.33.

Primerica Stock Up 0.3 %

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $286.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $267.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.23 billion, a PE ratio of 21.14 and a beta of 1.11.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $5.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 analysts’ expectations of $745.25 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.28 EPS. Primerica’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Primerica, Inc. will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Primerica Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st were issued a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.30%. Primerica’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.50%.

Primerica announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, November 14th that permits the company to repurchase $450.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 4.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Primerica

In other news, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.27, for a total transaction of $903,810.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,942,728.94. The trade was a 7.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Primerica during the 4th quarter valued at about $228,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Primerica by 14.9% in 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 during the period. Forthright Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Primerica during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $202,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Primerica during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $336,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Primerica by 21.3% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 5,632 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,493,000 after acquiring an additional 990 shares in the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.