Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 214,200 shares, a growth of 22.0% from the October 31st total of 175,600 shares. Currently, 0.7% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 135,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.6 days.

Primerica Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PRI traded down $1.86 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $300.90. The company's stock had a trading volume of 161,233 shares, compared to its average volume of 153,298. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $283.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $257.82. The company has a market capitalization of $10.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.99 and a beta of 1.08. Primerica has a fifty-two week low of $184.76 and a fifty-two week high of $307.91.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI - Get Free Report) last released its 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. The company had revenue of $774.13 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $745.25 million. Primerica had a return on equity of 30.93% and a net margin of 14.95%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.28 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Primerica will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Primerica Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Primerica's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.50%.

Insider Activity

In other Primerica news, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 3,000 shares of Primerica stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.27, for a total transaction of $903,810.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 36,322 shares in the company, valued at $10,942,728.94. The trade was a 7.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director John A. Jr. Addison sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.85, for a total transaction of $507,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Primerica

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PRI. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new position in Primerica during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Primerica during the third quarter worth $31,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Primerica in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of Primerica by 85.9% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 145 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake 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 buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PRI has been the topic of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Primerica in a research note on Friday, August 30th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $283.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded Primerica from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Primerica from $257.00 to $269.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, August 19th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Primerica from $314.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Primerica from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Primerica currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $293.50.

Primerica Company Profile

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.