Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $300.00.

PRI has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Primerica from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $292.00 to $318.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Piper Sandler set a $292.00 price target on Primerica and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Primerica from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $292.00 price objective on Primerica in a research note on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Primerica in a research note on Monday.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Joel M. Babbit sold 700 shares of Primerica stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.00, for a total value of $178,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 8,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,142,000. The trade was a 7.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, President Peter W. Schneider sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.30, for a total transaction of $510,600.00. Following the sale, the president owned 7,301 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,863,945.30. This trade represents a 21.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 5,200 shares of company stock worth $1,338,225 in the last three months. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Primerica

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Olympiad Research LP grew its holdings in Primerica by 3.9% in the second quarter. Olympiad Research LP now owns 1,061 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $290,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC raised its stake in shares of Primerica by 1.2% in the second quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 3,866 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,058,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Primerica by 6.5% during the third quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 836 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $232,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Primerica by 3.2% during the second quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 1,776 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $486,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its holdings in Primerica by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 22,844 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,252,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Primerica Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE PRI opened at $258.73 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $258.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $264.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.89 and a beta of 0.90. Primerica has a 12-month low of $230.98 and a 12-month high of $298.75.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $6.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.52 by $0.81. Primerica had a net margin of 22.36% and a return on equity of 31.75%. The company had revenue of $838.88 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $817.81 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.83 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Primerica will post 20.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Primerica declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, November 19th that permits the company to buyback $475.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 5.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Primerica Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 21st were given a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 21st. Primerica’s dividend payout ratio is 19.12%.

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.