Primoris Services (NASDAQ:PRIM) Sets New 12-Month High - Here's Why

Primoris Services Co. (NASDAQ:PRIM - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $86.20 and last traded at $85.49, with a volume of 67947 shares. The stock had previously closed at $84.40.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PRIM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Primoris Services from $75.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Guggenheim started coverage on Primoris Services in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $102.00 target price on the stock. KeyCorp began coverage on Primoris Services in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $96.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Primoris Services in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $71.00 price objective for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Primoris Services from $51.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Primoris Services has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $88.67.

Primoris Services Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $4.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.15 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $80.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.07.

Primoris Services (NASDAQ:PRIM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The construction company reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.58 billion. Primoris Services had a return on equity of 15.23% and a net margin of 2.68%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.02 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Primoris Services Co. will post 3.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Primoris Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This is an increase from Primoris Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.38%. Primoris Services's dividend payout ratio is 10.60%.

Insider Activity at Primoris Services

In other news, Director David Lee King sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.14, for a total value of $152,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 25,818 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,965,782.52. This trade represents a 7.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Thomas Edward Mccormick sold 15,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.28, for a total transaction of $1,219,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 61,390 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,989,779.20. This trade represents a 19.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 23,018 shares of company stock worth $1,854,974 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D purchased a new position in Primoris Services in the second quarter valued at about $1,708,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Primoris Services by 33.0% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 129,472 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $6,459,000 after purchasing an additional 32,096 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Primoris Services in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $6,366,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its holdings in Primoris Services by 13.4% during the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 97,400 shares of the construction company's stock worth $4,859,000 after purchasing an additional 11,488 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC boosted its position in Primoris Services by 23.7% during the second quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 21,572 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,076,000 after purchasing an additional 4,139 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.82% of the company's stock.

About Primoris Services

Primoris Services Corporation, a specialty contractor company, provides a range of specialty construction, fabrication, maintenance, replacement, and engineering services in the United States and Canada. The company operates through Utilities and Energy/Renewables segments. The Utilities segment offers installation and maintenance services for new and existing natural gas distribution systems, electric utility distribution and transmission systems, and communications systems.