Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the nine research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $21.36.

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on Premier from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Benchmark lowered shares of Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Premier from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com cut shares of Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Premier from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 9th.

Premier Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PINC opened at $21.79 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $2.09 billion, a PE ratio of 16.02 and a beta of 0.42. Premier has a 1 year low of $17.95 and a 1 year high of $23.56. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $21.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.14.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.09. Premier had a return on equity of 10.74% and a net margin of 11.41%. The business had revenue of $248.14 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $232.85 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.50 EPS. Premier’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Premier will post 1.09 EPS for the current year.

Premier Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, December 1st will be given a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.85%. Premier’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Premier

In other news, Director John T. Bigalke sold 1,136 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.19, for a total value of $25,207.84. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 23,846 shares in the company, valued at approximately $529,142.74. This trade represents a 4.55 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 18,374 shares of Premier stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.80, for a total transaction of $400,553.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 502,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,951,317.20. This represents a 3.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 104,825 shares of company stock worth $2,184,542 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Premier

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Premier in the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. M&T Bank Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Premier during the third quarter valued at $201,000. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Premier by 32.2% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 154,128 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,081,000 after purchasing an additional 37,551 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd increased its stake in Premier by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 20,409 shares of the company’s stock worth $408,000 after buying an additional 478 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC lifted its holdings in Premier by 70.2% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 143,803 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,876,000 after buying an additional 59,295 shares in the last quarter. 74.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Premier

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.