Principal Financial Group Inc. Raises Stake in Primoris Services Co. (NASDAQ:PRIM)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Primoris Services Co. (NASDAQ:PRIM - Free Report) by 45.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 50,620 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 15,710 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.09% of Primoris Services worth $2,940,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PRIM. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Primoris Services by 414.2% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 725 shares of the construction company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 584 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Primoris Services by 27.3% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 919 shares of the construction company's stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its position in Primoris Services by 25.1% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,095 shares of the construction company's stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the period. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Primoris Services in the second quarter valued at about $70,000. Finally, Canton Hathaway LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Primoris Services during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $100,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.82% of the company's stock.

Primoris Services Price Performance

Shares of PRIM traded down $0.27 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $82.99. 592,376 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 919,900. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $65.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $57.10. Primoris Services Co. has a fifty-two week low of $29.14 and a fifty-two week high of $83.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.46 billion, a PE ratio of 27.48 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Primoris Services (NASDAQ:PRIM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The construction company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.58 billion. Primoris Services had a net margin of 2.68% and a return on equity of 15.23%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.02 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Primoris Services Co. will post 3.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Primoris Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This is an increase from Primoris Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.39%. Primoris Services's payout ratio is 7.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PRIM. DA Davidson upped their price target on Primoris Services from $60.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Primoris Services in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $71.00 price target for the company. 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 note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Primoris Services from $51.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $83.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Thomas Edward Mccormick sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.28, for a total transaction of $1,219,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 61,390 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,989,779.20. This represents a 19.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director John P. Schauerman sold 25,000 shares of Primoris Services stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.05, for a total transaction of $1,351,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 162,281 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,771,288.05. This trade represents a 13.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 75,409 shares of company stock valued at $4,762,468 in the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Primoris Services 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.