Primoris Services (NASDAQ:PRIM) Shares Up 5% - Here's Why

Primoris Services Co. (NASDAQ:PRIM - Get Free Report)'s share price was up 5% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $81.81 and last traded at $81.80. Approximately 30,365 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 95% from the average daily volume of 582,102 shares. The stock had previously closed at $77.88.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PRIM has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Primoris Services in a report on Monday, October 7th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $71.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Primoris Services from $75.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. KeyCorp started coverage on shares of Primoris Services in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $96.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Primoris Services from $51.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Primoris Services from $60.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Primoris Services presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $86.00.

Primoris Services Stock Performance

The business's 50-day simple moving average is $74.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $60.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market cap of $4.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.50 and a beta of 1.12.

Primoris Services (NASDAQ:PRIM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The construction company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.58 billion. Primoris Services had a return on equity of 15.23% and a net margin of 2.68%. Primoris Services's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.02 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Primoris Services Co. will post 3.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Primoris Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a boost from Primoris Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.40%. Primoris Services's dividend payout ratio is currently 10.60%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Stephen C. Cook sold 4,018 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.53, for a total value of $315,533.54. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,908 shares in the company, valued at $621,015.24. This trade represents a 33.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director David Lee King sold 2,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 25,818 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,965,782.52. This represents a 7.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 23,018 shares of company stock worth $1,854,974 over the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Primoris Services

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PRIM. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Primoris Services by 45.0% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 50,620 shares of the construction company's stock worth $2,940,000 after acquiring an additional 15,710 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Primoris Services by 24.2% in the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,180 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the period. Virtue Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Primoris Services by 2.1% in the third quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC now owns 16,392 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $952,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Primoris Services by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,218,911 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $70,810,000 after buying an additional 15,070 shares during the period. Finally, Vestcor Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Primoris Services in the 3rd quarter valued at $925,000. 91.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Primoris Services Company Profile

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.