Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Boosts Palomar (NASDAQ:PLMR) Price Target to $171.00

Palomar (NASDAQ:PLMR) had its price objective hoisted by research analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $170.00 to $171.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price objective would indicate a potential upside of 30.69% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also commented on PLMR. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Palomar from $168.00 to $134.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Palomar in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Palomar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Palomar from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $157.83.

Palomar Stock Performance

Shares of Palomar stock traded down $5.23 on Tuesday, reaching $130.85. 107,471 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 201,157. The firm has a market cap of $3.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.51 and a beta of 0.42. Palomar has a 1-year low of $98.42 and a 1-year high of $175.85. The company’s 50-day moving average is $125.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $126.38.

Palomar (NASDAQ:PLMR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, December 16th. The company reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter. Palomar had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 22.59%.The firm had revenue of $65.74 million during the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Palomar will post 5.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Palomar

In other Palomar news, President Jon Christianson sold 1,691 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.50, for a total transaction of $235,894.50. Following the sale, the president directly owned 59,631 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,318,524.50. The trade was a 2.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jonathan Knutzen sold 281 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.84, for a total transaction of $36,204.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 21,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,778,434.60. This trade represents a 1.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 16,494 shares of company stock worth $2,004,566 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palomar

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PLMR. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palomar by 59.8% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,216 shares of the company’s stock valued at $164,000 after buying an additional 455 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Palomar by 12.4% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 88,841 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,372,000 after acquiring an additional 9,831 shares in the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL lifted its holdings in Palomar by 168.0% in the 3rd quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 24,188 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,824,000 after acquiring an additional 15,164 shares during the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd bought a new position in shares of Palomar during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,035,000. Finally, Alternative Investment Advisors LLC. bought a new position in shares of Palomar during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,887,000. 90.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Palomar

Palomar Holdings, Inc (NASDAQ: PLMR) is a specialty insurance holding company focused on providing medical stop-loss coverage and related administrative services to self-funded employer health plans in the United States. The firm operates through two primary business segments—Medical Stop-Loss and Specialty Program Management—to deliver tailored risk protection and comprehensive program administration.

In its Medical Stop-Loss segment, Palomar underwrites excess and aggregate stop-loss policies designed to shield self-insured employers from catastrophic medical claims that exceed pre-determined retention levels.