Primo Brands (NYSE:PRMB) Shares Gap Up on Strong Earnings

Primo Brands Corporation (NYSE:PRMB)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $19.63, but opened at $21.50. Primo Brands shares last traded at $22.5570, with a volume of 2,854,145 shares trading hands.

The company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.52 billion. Primo Brands had a negative net margin of 1.30% and a positive return on equity of 12.52%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.13 EPS.

Primo Brands Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This is an increase from Primo Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Primo Brands’s payout ratio is currently -129.03%.

Primo Brands declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Monday, November 10th that permits the company to buyback $50.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 0.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on PRMB shares. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $35.00 price target on shares of Primo Brands in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Primo Brands from $23.00 to $21.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Primo Brands from $28.00 to $24.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. TD Securities decreased their price target on shares of Primo Brands from $35.00 to $27.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Primo Brands from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $26.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Primo Brands

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. One Rock Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Primo Brands in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,900,047,000. Viking Global Investors LP raised its position in shares of Primo Brands by 290.2% during the 2nd quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 19,602,116 shares of the company’s stock valued at $580,615,000 after buying an additional 14,578,589 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Primo Brands by 189.5% in the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 14,454,637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $236,333,000 after acquiring an additional 9,461,990 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in Primo Brands by 2,486.6% in the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,867,110 shares of the company’s stock worth $173,784,000 after acquiring an additional 5,640,287 shares during the period. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. increased its stake in Primo Brands by 622.5% during the fourth quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 6,219,575 shares of the company’s stock worth $101,690,000 after acquiring an additional 5,358,687 shares during the last quarter. 87.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Primo Brands Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The company has a market cap of $8.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -72.42, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.63. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $18.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.88.

About Primo Brands

Primo Brands (NYSE: PRMB) is a consumer packaged beverage company that was established as an independent entity following a corporate spin‐off in 2023. The company specializes in the production, marketing and distribution of a broad portfolio of bottled water products, including purified, mineral and sparkling varieties. Through its focus on quality control and innovation, Primo Brands aims to deliver clean, great-tasting water in formats tailored to both at-home consumption and on-the-go lifestyles.

Its product range spans multi-serve and single-serve bottles, aluminum cans and other eco-friendly packaging solutions.