Primerica (NYSE:PRI) Trading Up 0.4% – Should You Buy?

Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI)’s stock price shot up 0.4% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $273.95 and last traded at $272.39. 18,379 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 132,506 shares. The stock had previously closed at $271.41.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PRI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Primerica from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Primerica from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Primerica from $313.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Primerica from $314.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on Primerica from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $303.00.

Primerica Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $9.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.86 and a beta of 1.11. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $286.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $268.00.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $5.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.81 by $0.87. The firm had revenue of $774.13 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $745.25 million. Primerica had a return on equity of 30.93% and a net margin of 14.95%. The company’s revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.28 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Primerica, Inc. will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Primerica Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were issued a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.32%. Primerica’s payout ratio is 27.50%.

Primerica announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, November 14th that authorizes the company to buyback $450.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 4.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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. This trade represents a 7.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Primerica

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Primerica by 3.5% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,054 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $279,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its position in Primerica by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 6,083 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,613,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Primerica by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,840 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,549,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in Primerica by 56.8% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 149 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SkyView Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Primerica by 1.0% during the second quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,271 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,484,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

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.