Primerica (NYSE:PRI) Trading 1.1% Higher – Still a Buy?

Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI)’s stock price traded up 1.1% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $292.52 and last traded at $292.02. 8,560 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 94% from the average session volume of 133,551 shares. The stock had previously closed at $288.74.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PRI has been the subject of several analyst reports. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Primerica from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Primerica from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Primerica from $314.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Primerica from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $303.00.

Primerica Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $286.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $268.83. The stock has a market cap of $9.71 billion, a PE ratio of 22.23 and a beta of 1.11.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $5.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.81 by $0.87. Primerica had a return on equity of 30.93% and a net margin of 14.95%. The company had revenue of $774.13 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $745.25 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.28 earnings per share. Primerica’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Primerica, Inc. will post 19.55 EPS for the current year.

Primerica Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were paid a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.24%. Primerica’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.50%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Primerica

In related news, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.27, for a total transaction of $903,810.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,322 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,942,728.94. This represents a 7.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in Primerica in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Primerica in the third quarter worth about $31,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of Primerica by 85.9% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 145 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Primerica by 56.8% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 149 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP raised its position in Primerica by 629.2% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $93,000 after buying an additional 302 shares during the period. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Primerica Company Profile

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.