Primerica (NYSE:PRI) Stock Price Up 0.7% – Still a Buy?

Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI) shares traded up 0.7% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $276.03 and last traded at $273.22. 16,556 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 155,494 shares. The stock had previously closed at $271.42.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PRI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Primerica from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Primerica from $314.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Primerica from $313.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Primerica from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Primerica has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $296.33.

Primerica Stock Up 1.7 %

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $286.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $266.19. The company has a market capitalization of $9.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.12 and a beta of 1.11.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $5.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.81 by $0.87. Primerica had a net margin of 14.95% and a return on equity of 30.93%. The firm had revenue of $774.13 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $745.25 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.28 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Primerica, Inc. will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 of this dividend was Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.30%. Primerica’s payout ratio is currently 27.50%.

Primerica announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, November 14th that allows the company to repurchase $450.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 4.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 shares were sold at an average price of $301.27, for a total value of $903,810.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,322 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,942,728.94. The trade was a 7.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in Primerica by 30,726.7% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 680,961 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $161,102,000 after purchasing an additional 678,752 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Primerica by 66.3% during the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 99,758 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $23,601,000 after buying an additional 39,761 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its stake in shares of Primerica by 2,986.9% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 32,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,595,000 after acquiring an additional 31,064 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Primerica during the 2nd quarter valued at $71,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Primerica by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 696,839 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $184,807,000 after acquiring an additional 25,951 shares during the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is owned by 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.