Short Interest in Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI) Drops By 6.2%

Posted by Joseph Griffin on Nov 19th, 2019

Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 727,200 shares, a decrease of 6.2% from the September 30th total of 775,500 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 202,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.6 days. Approximately 1.8% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Several brokerages have weighed in on PRI. ValuEngine lowered Primerica from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Zacks Investment Research lowered Primerica from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th.

In related news, President Peter W. Schneider sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.26, for a total transaction of $357,780.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 29,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,552,755.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Alison S. Rand sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.64, for a total value of $239,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,337 shares in the company, valued at $2,074,198.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 11,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,377,210. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PRI. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Primerica by 50.0% in the 2nd quarter. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Doyle Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Primerica during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $54,000. Kavar Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Primerica during the 2nd quarter valued at $55,000. Advisory Services Network LLC increased its holdings in Primerica by 74.5% during the 2nd quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 459 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Primerica during the 2nd quarter valued at $60,000. 89.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PRI stock traded up $0.76 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $131.86. The stock had a trading volume of 50,437 shares, compared to its average volume of 128,512. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Primerica has a 1-year low of $90.28 and a 1-year high of $132.17. The company has a fifty day moving average of $125.67 and a 200 day moving average of $122.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.99 and a beta of 1.36.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, beating the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $520.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $518.78 million. Primerica had a return on equity of 22.88% and a net margin of 17.90%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.93 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Primerica will post 8.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 19th. Primerica’s dividend payout ratio is 18.55%.

Primerica Company Profile

Primerica, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides financial products to middle income households in the United States and Canada. The company operates in three segments: Term Life Insurance; Investment and Savings Products; and Corporate and Other Distributed Products. It underwrites individual term life insurance products.

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