Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 9,470,000 shares, a growth of 23.3% from the December 31st total of 7,680,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,020,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 9.3 days. Approximately 10.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PINC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price objective on Premier from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Premier from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Premier from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Premier from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Premier from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $20.50.

Premier Stock Performance

Shares of PINC stock traded down $0.19 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $18.76. The company had a trading volume of 1,808,690 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,351,971. The company has a market capitalization of $1.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.79 and a beta of 0.43. Premier has a twelve month low of $17.95 and a twelve month high of $23.56. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $21.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.93.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.09. Premier had a net margin of 11.41% and a return on equity of 10.74%. The company had revenue of $248.14 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $232.85 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.50 earnings per share. Premier's revenue for the quarter was down 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Premier will post 1.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Premier Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 15th. Investors of record on Saturday, March 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.48%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Premier's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.77%.

Insider Activity at Premier

In other Premier news, Director John T. Bigalke sold 1,136 shares of Premier stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.19, for a total transaction of $25,207.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 23,846 shares in the company, valued at approximately $529,142.74. The trade was a 4.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 18,374 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.80, for a total transaction of $400,553.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 502,354 shares in the company, valued at $10,951,317.20. This trade represents a 3.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 59,425 shares of company stock valued at $1,320,242 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Premier

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AlphaQuest LLC increased its position in shares of Premier by 1,091.9% during the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 42,503 shares of the company's stock worth $901,000 after acquiring an additional 38,937 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Premier by 45.5% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,674 shares of the company's stock valued at $184,000 after buying an additional 2,712 shares during the last quarter. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Premier during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,570,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Premier in the fourth quarter worth $286,000. Finally, M&T Bank Corp raised its holdings in Premier by 18.9% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 11,959 shares of the company's stock valued at $253,000 after acquiring an additional 1,905 shares in the last quarter. 74.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Premier Company Profile

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.