Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO) Upgraded to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday morning.

Perrigo Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE PRGO opened at $27.20 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.74 billion, a P/E ratio of -20.76 and a beta of 0.45. Perrigo has a 52-week low of $23.14 and a 52-week high of $30.93. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $26.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82.

Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.09 billion. Perrigo had a negative net margin of 4.16% and a positive return on equity of 8.93%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.29 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Perrigo will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

Perrigo Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th were issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.26%. Perrigo’s dividend payout ratio is currently -88.55%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Perrigo by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,048,005 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,944,000 after buying an additional 13,835 shares during the period. Beach Investment Counsel Inc. PA acquired a new position in Perrigo during the first quarter worth about $1,526,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in Perrigo by 4.6% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,142,407 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,645,000 after buying an additional 50,009 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Perrigo during the fourth quarter worth about $3,177,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Perrigo by 5,281.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 103,327 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,897,000 after buying an additional 101,407 shares during the period. 95.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Perrigo Company Profile

Perrigo Company plc provides over-the-counter health and wellness solutions to enhance individual well-being in the United States, Europe, and internationally. It operates through Consumer Self-Care Americas and Consumer Self-Care International segments. The company develops, manufactures, markets, and distributes self-care consumer products, such as upper respiratory products, including cough suppressants, expectorants, and sinus and allergy relief; nutrition products consisting of infant formulas and nutritional beverages; digestive health products, including antacids, anti-diarrheal, and anti-heartburn; pain and sleep-aids products comprising pain relievers and fever reducers; and oral care products, which include toothbrushes, toothbrush replacement heads, floss, flossers, whitening products, and toothbrush covers.