Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) Downgraded to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Monday morning.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Premier from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. Benchmark downgraded shares of Premier from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price objective on shares of Premier from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Premier from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group cut Premier from a buy rating to a hold rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $27.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Premier presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $22.19.

Premier Stock Down 1.4 %

Premier stock opened at $20.46 on Monday. Premier has a 12-month low of $17.95 and a 12-month high of $23.56. The stock has a market cap of $2.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.97, a P/E/G ratio of 9.79 and a beta of 0.40. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $19.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.11.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $350.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $308.88 million. Premier had a return on equity of 11.69% and a net margin of 8.88%. Premier’s revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.70 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Premier will post 1.02 EPS for the current year.

Premier Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, September 1st will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.11%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. Premier’s payout ratio is 131.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, General Counsel David L. Klatsky sold 13,339 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.55, for a total value of $247,438.45. Following the transaction, the general counsel now owns 92,001 shares in the company, valued at $1,706,618.55. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, General Counsel David L. Klatsky sold 13,339 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.55, for a total value of $247,438.45. Following the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 92,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,706,618.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 2,625 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total value of $52,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 580,073 shares in the company, valued at $11,601,460. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 148,261 shares of company stock worth $2,964,830 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Premier

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of Premier by 22.4% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,289 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 601 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Premier by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 531,327 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,880,000 after acquiring an additional 12,363 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. increased its position in shares of Premier by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 19,504 shares of the company’s stock valued at $436,000 after purchasing an additional 1,901 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management increased its position in shares of Premier by 3,979.3% during the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 118,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,645,000 after purchasing an additional 115,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in Premier by 690.6% during the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 352,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,015,000 after acquiring an additional 308,000 shares during the period. 74.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Premier Company Profile

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.