StockNews.com Upgrades Primerica (NYSE:PRI) to Buy

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Primerica (NYSE:PRI) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Wednesday morning.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Primerica from $239.00 to $249.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Primerica from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Primerica from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Piper Sandler started coverage on Primerica in a report on Friday, August 30th. They issued a neutral rating and a $283.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Primerica from $257.00 to $269.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Primerica presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $275.20.

Primerica Stock Performance

Shares of Primerica stock opened at $263.17 on Wednesday. Primerica has a fifty-two week low of $184.76 and a fifty-two week high of $267.92. The company has a market capitalization of $8.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.02 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a fifty day moving average of $255.75 and a 200 day moving average of $240.61.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $4.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.47 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $803.38 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $748.88 million. Primerica had a return on equity of 27.81% and a net margin of 14.85%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.99 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Primerica will post 17.94 EPS for the current year.

Primerica Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 21st were given a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.37%. This is a positive change from Primerica’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Primerica’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Primerica

In other news, President Peter W. Schneider sold 1,500 shares of Primerica stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.11, for a total value of $391,665.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 10,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,678,727.49. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, President Peter W. Schneider sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.11, for a total value of $391,665.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 10,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,678,727.49. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John A. Jr. Addison sold 2,000 shares of Primerica stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.85, for a total transaction of $507,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,846,081.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 6,500 shares of company stock worth $1,657,015 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PRI. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Primerica by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,237,164 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $292,688,000 after acquiring an additional 17,095 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Primerica by 30,726.7% during the second 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 period. Lyrical Asset Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Primerica by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Lyrical Asset Management LP now owns 663,783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $136,580,000 after purchasing an additional 9,923 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Primerica by 3.5% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 637,753 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $150,880,000 after purchasing an additional 21,836 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Primerica by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 218,324 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $55,227,000 after buying an additional 10,354 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Primerica Company Profile

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.