Canaccord Genuity Group Cuts Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) Price Target to $19.00

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) had its price target reduced by Canaccord Genuity Group from $20.00 to $19.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a hold rating on the stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on PINC. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Premier from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Premier from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Premier from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Benchmark cut shares of Premier from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $21.81.

Premier Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ PINC opened at $19.19 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.42 and a beta of 0.41. Premier has a 52 week low of $17.95 and a 52 week high of $23.01. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.93.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $350.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $308.88 million. Premier had a net margin of 8.88% and a return on equity of 11.69%. The business’s revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.70 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Premier will post 1.04 EPS for the current year.

Premier Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, September 1st were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.38%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. Premier’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 131.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Premier news, COO Leigh Anderson sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.62, for a total value of $392,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 131,707 shares in the company, valued at $2,584,091.34. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 2,625 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total value of $52,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 580,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,601,460. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Leigh Anderson sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.62, for a total transaction of $392,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 131,707 shares in the company, valued at $2,584,091.34. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 186,312 shares of company stock worth $3,779,250 over the last 90 days. 0.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Premier

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Premier during the third quarter worth about $678,000. Brandes Investment Partners LP increased its position in Premier by 86.3% during the 2nd quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 349,098 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,497,000 after purchasing an additional 161,720 shares during the period. Creative Planning raised its stake in shares of Premier by 29.6% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 50,980 shares of the company’s stock worth $952,000 after buying an additional 11,645 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Premier in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $225,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Premier in the second quarter valued at approximately $468,000. 74.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Premier Company Profile

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.