Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 9,470,000 shares, an increase of 23.3% from the December 31st total of 7,680,000 shares. Currently, 10.0% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,020,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 9.3 days.

Premier Stock Performance

NASDAQ PINC traded down $0.26 during trading on Monday, reaching $22.40. 1,238,631 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,166,925. The stock has a market cap of $2.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.47 and a beta of 0.43. Premier has a 1 year low of $17.95 and a 1 year high of $23.56. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $21.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.96.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.09. Premier had a net margin of 11.41% and a return on equity of 10.74%. The business had revenue of $248.14 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $232.85 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.50 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Premier will post 1.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Premier Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 15th. Investors of record on Saturday, March 1st will be paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.75%. Premier’s payout ratio is 61.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PINC. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on shares of Premier from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Premier from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Premier from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat, Premier currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $21.36.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Helen M. Boudreau sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.42, for a total transaction of $53,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 20,668 shares in the company, valued at $442,708.56. This trade represents a 10.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 17,415 shares of Premier stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.16, for a total transaction of $403,331.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 520,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,060,060.48. The trade was a 3.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 59,425 shares of company stock valued at $1,320,242. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Premier

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PINC. Mackenzie Financial Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Premier during the 2nd quarter worth about $468,000. Algert Global LLC acquired a new position in Premier during the 2nd quarter worth $225,000. Creative Planning raised its position in Premier by 29.6% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 50,980 shares of the company’s stock worth $952,000 after acquiring an additional 11,645 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Premier during the 3rd quarter valued at $678,000. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in shares of Premier by 27.5% during the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 41,295 shares of the company’s stock valued at $826,000 after purchasing an additional 8,900 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.41% of the company’s stock.

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.