Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI) Short Interest Update

Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI) saw a significant decline in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 175,600 shares, a decline of 19.9% from the October 15th total of 219,100 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 130,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.3 days. Currently, 0.5% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Insider Transactions at Primerica

In other news, Director John A. Jr. Addison sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.85, for a total transaction of $507,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,151 shares in the company, valued at $3,846,081.35. This trade represents a 11.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, President Peter W. Schneider sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.11, for a total value of $391,665.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 10,259 shares in the company, valued at $2,678,727.49. The trade was a 12.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 6,500 shares of company stock worth $1,803,175. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Primerica during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Primerica in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new position in Primerica during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Primerica by 56.8% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 149 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PRI has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Primerica in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $314.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Primerica in a research report on Friday, August 30th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $283.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Primerica from $257.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 19th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Primerica from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Primerica from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Primerica currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $288.33.

Primerica Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PRI traded up $1.79 during trading on Friday, hitting $298.61. 98,132 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 154,471. The business’s fifty day moving average is $273.65 and its 200 day moving average is $251.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.80 and a beta of 1.08. Primerica has a fifty-two week low of $184.76 and a fifty-two week high of $304.84.

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, topping 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 business had revenue of $774.13 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $745.25 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.28 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Primerica will post 19.12 EPS for the current year.

Primerica announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, November 14th that allows the company to buyback $450.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 4.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Primerica Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Primerica’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.50%.

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.