Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) Downgraded by Canaccord Genuity Group to Hold

Canaccord Genuity Group lowered shares of Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Canaccord Genuity Group currently has $21.00 price target on the stock, down from their previous price target of $27.00.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. SVB Leerink assumed coverage on shares of Premier in a research report on Monday, February 26th. They set a market perform rating and a $22.50 price target for the company. StockNews.com downgraded Premier from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs reaffirmed a market perform rating on shares of Premier in a research report on Monday, February 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $23.50.

Premier Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PINC opened at $19.61 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $21.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $21.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.32. The company has a market capitalization of $2.35 billion, a PE ratio of 14.11, a PEG ratio of 5.22 and a beta of 0.39. Premier has a 1-year low of $18.65 and a 1-year high of $28.30.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $334.75 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $338.55 million. Premier had a net margin of 12.71% and a return on equity of 11.60%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Premier will post 1.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Premier Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, June 1st will be given a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.28%. Premier’s payout ratio is 60.43%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Premier

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Premier by 8,726.8% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 374,434 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,275,000 after buying an additional 370,192 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Premier in the first quarter worth approximately $418,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Premier by 1,496.5% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 94,734 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,094,000 after acquiring an additional 88,800 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its position in shares of Premier by 47.6% during the 1st quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 46,979 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,038,000 after acquiring an additional 15,140 shares during the period. Finally, Texas Permanent School Fund Corp increased its stake in shares of Premier by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 104,863 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,317,000 after purchasing an additional 1,497 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.41% of the company’s stock.

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.