Primerica (NYSE:PRI) Trading Up 0.2% – Time to Buy?

Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI) was up 0.2% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $292.49 and last traded at $290.38. Approximately 15,499 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 127,079 shares. The stock had previously closed at $289.94.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on PRI shares. TD Cowen upped their price target on Primerica from $314.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Primerica in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $311.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Primerica from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Primerica from $313.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Primerica from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Primerica presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $304.14.

Primerica Price Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $284.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $272.53. The company has a market cap of $9.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.23 and a beta of 1.11.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $5.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.81 by $0.87. The firm had revenue of $774.13 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $745.25 million. Primerica had a return on equity of 30.93% and a net margin of 14.95%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.28 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Primerica, Inc. will post 19.79 EPS for the current year.

Primerica Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were issued a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 21st. Primerica’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.50%.

Primerica declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, November 14th that permits the company to buyback $450.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 4.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Primerica news, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.27, for a total value of $903,810.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,322 shares in the company, valued at $10,942,728.94. This represents a 7.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Primerica during the second quarter valued at about $1,349,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Primerica by 3.8% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 27,968 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,617,000 after purchasing an additional 1,035 shares during the period. Creative Planning lifted its stake in Primerica by 2.8% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 6,043 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,430,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Primerica by 8.5% during the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 8,004 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,894,000 after purchasing an additional 630 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dana Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Primerica by 13.1% during the 2nd quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,462 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $819,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

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.