William Blair Initiates Coverage on Primo Water (NYSE:PRMW)

William Blair started coverage on shares of Primo Water (NYSE:PRMW - Free Report) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. The firm issued an outperform rating on the stock.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on PRMW. Raymond James cut shares of Primo Water from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. StockNews.com cut Primo Water from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, October 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of Primo Water in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $25.83.

Primo Water Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:PRMW traded down $0.16 during trading on Thursday, hitting $27.51. The company's stock had a trading volume of 773,062 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,194,058. The company has a market capitalization of $4.42 billion, a PE ratio of 17.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a current ratio of 2.18. Primo Water has a fifty-two week low of $12.92 and a fifty-two week high of $28.06. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $24.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $22.15.

Primo Water (NYSE:PRMW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $485.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $477.40 million. Primo Water had a return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 12.61%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.22 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Primo Water will post 0.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Primo Water Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a -- dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 5th. This represents a yield of 1.3%. Primo Water's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.36%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Primo Water

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Cedar Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Primo Water during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Primo Water by 375.9% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,242 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 981 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Primo Water by 52.1% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,871 shares of the company's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 641 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Primo Water during the third quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Primo Water in the 1st quarter valued at about $66,000. 87.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Primo Water

Primo Water Corporation provides pure-play water solutions for residential and commercial customers. It offers bottled water, water dispensers, purified bottled water, self-service refill drinking water, premium spring, mineral water, sparkling and flavored essence water, filtration units, and coffee.