Primerica (NYSE:PRI) Sets New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $308.65 and last traded at $298.74, with a volume of 2129 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $301.12.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PRI. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Primerica from $314.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Primerica in a research report on Friday, August 30th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $283.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Primerica from $257.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 19th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Primerica from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Primerica from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Primerica presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $293.50.

Primerica Price Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average is $283.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $257.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.02 billion, a PE ratio of 22.99 and a beta of 1.09.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $5.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.81 by $0.87. The firm had revenue of $774.13 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $745.25 million. Primerica had a net margin of 14.95% and a return on equity of 30.93%. The business’s revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.28 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Primerica, Inc. will post 19.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Primerica Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Primerica’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.50%.

Primerica declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, November 14th that permits the company to repurchase $450.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 4.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Primerica

In other news, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.27, for a total transaction of $903,810.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now 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 SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John A. Jr. Addison sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.85, for a total transaction of $507,700.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 15,151 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,846,081.35. This trade represents a 11.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Primerica

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. ORG Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Primerica during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Primerica during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Primerica during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of Primerica by 85.9% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 145 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Primerica by 56.8% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 149 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. 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.