Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) Shares Down 8.8% Following Weak Earnings

Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC - Get Free Report) shares fell 8.8% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as low as $20.44 and last traded at $20.44. 249,541 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 1,124,055 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.40.

The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.09. Premier had a net margin of 11.41% and a return on equity of 10.74%. The firm had revenue of $248.14 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $232.85 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.50 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year.

Premier Dividend Announcement

The business 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 $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.48%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Premier's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 17,415 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.16, for a total transaction of $403,331.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 520,728 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,060,060.48. The trade was a 3.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Leigh Anderson sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.88, for a total transaction of $437,600.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 111,707 shares in the company, valued at $2,444,149.16. The trade was a 15.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 59,425 shares of company stock worth $1,320,242. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of Premier by 28.0% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,041 shares of the company's stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 446 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd raised its holdings in Premier by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 20,409 shares of the company's stock worth $408,000 after purchasing an additional 478 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Premier by 137.6% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,347 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 780 shares during the period. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Premier by 157.8% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,284 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 786 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Impact Partnership Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Premier by 7.1% during the third quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 11,945 shares of the company's stock worth $239,000 after buying an additional 795 shares during the period. 74.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Premier Stock Down 1.0 %

The firm has a market cap of $1.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.79 and a beta of 0.43. The business's 50 day moving average is $21.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.93.

About Premier

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.