Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO) Hits New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday. The stock traded as high as $16.83 and last traded at $16.83, with a volume of 1,452,848 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $15.85.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PRGO. Zacks Research lowered Perrigo from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on shares of Perrigo from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Perrigo in a research report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Perrigo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Perrigo presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $18.50.

Perrigo Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $2.30 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. The business’s 50 day moving average is $15.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.52.

Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.09. Perrigo had a negative net margin of 43.27% and a positive return on equity of 12.39%. The business had revenue of $988.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $984.80 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.80 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Perrigo Company plc will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Perrigo Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 27th will be paid a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 27th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.0%. Perrigo’s payout ratio is currently -9.09%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Perrigo

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Perrigo by 3.9% in the third quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 1,615,467 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,424,000 after purchasing an additional 60,838 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of Perrigo by 25.5% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,568,598 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,847,000 after buying an additional 318,248 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Perrigo by 125.5% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,496,244 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,070,000 after purchasing an additional 832,686 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its stake in Perrigo by 29.7% in the first quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 1,397,866 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,013,000 after acquiring an additional 320,081 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Perrigo by 51.7% during the 3rd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 959,053 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,156,000 after purchasing an additional 326,797 shares during the last quarter. 95.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Perrigo

Perrigo is a global consumer healthcare company that develops, manufactures and markets over-the-counter medicines and other self-care products. Its offerings include treatments for allergies, coughs and colds, pain and digestive health, as well as skin care, oral care and infant nutrition products. The company supplies both its own consumer brands and store-brand products, which retailers sell under their own labels. Perrigo serves customers primarily in North America and Europe through retail and other healthcare channels.