Evercore ISI Begins Coverage on Palomar (NASDAQ:PLMR)

Research analysts at Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Palomar (NASDAQ:PLMR) in a research report issued on Monday. The brokerage set an “outperform” rating and a $150.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI’s price objective points to a potential upside of 17.54% from the stock’s current price.

PLMR has been the topic of several other research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Palomar from $170.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Palomar from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Palomar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Palomar from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $158.14.

Palomar Stock Performance

Shares of PLMR opened at $127.62 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $3.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.91 and a beta of 0.44. Palomar has a 52-week low of $107.75 and a 52-week high of $175.85. The business’s fifty day moving average is $127.78 and its 200-day moving average is $123.20.

Palomar (NASDAQ:PLMR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.45. Palomar had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 22.59%.The company had revenue of $244.66 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $207.98 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.23 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Palomar will post 5.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, President Jon Christianson sold 1,991 shares of Palomar stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.88, for a total transaction of $238,681.08. Following the sale, the president directly owned 62,985 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,550,641.80. This trade represents a 3.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Mac Armstrong sold 11,484 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.88, for a total value of $1,376,701.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 91,737 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,997,431.56. This represents a 11.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 58,998 shares of company stock valued at $7,255,669 in the last 90 days. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palomar

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new stake in Palomar in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Palomar by 210.0% during the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 217 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in shares of Palomar by 1,970.0% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 207 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Palomar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Palomar by 31.0% in the third quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 397 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.25% of the company’s stock.

Palomar Company Profile

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.