Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) Reaches New 1-Year Low After Analyst Downgrade

Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC)’s share price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Piper Sandler lowered their price target on the stock from $24.00 to $22.00. Piper Sandler currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Premier traded as low as $18.65 and last traded at $19.44, with a volume of 605580 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $19.41.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on PINC. StockNews.com lowered shares of Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Leerink Partnrs reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Premier in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Premier from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. SVB Leerink assumed coverage on shares of Premier in a research note on Monday, February 26th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $22.50 price objective for the company. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $21.00 price objective (down previously from $27.00) on shares of Premier in a research note on Wednesday. One investment 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $23.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Premier

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Premier by 153.3% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,583 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 958 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Premier by 71.7% during the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,660 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 693 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Premier by 141.2% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,980 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 1,159 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its holdings in Premier by 53.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 2,138 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 741 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janiczek Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Premier by 246.5% during the 4th quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,533 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 1,802 shares during the last quarter. 74.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Premier Stock Up 1.0 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.35 billion, a PE ratio of 14.11, a P/E/G ratio of 5.22 and a beta of 0.39. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $21.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.21.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $334.75 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $338.55 million. Premier had a net margin of 12.71% and a return on equity of 11.60%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Premier, Inc. will post 1.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Premier Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 15th. Investors of record on Saturday, June 1st will be issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.28%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st. Premier’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.43%.

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.