Primo Water (NYSE:PRMW) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Time to Buy?

Shares of Primo Water Co. (NYSE:PRMW) saw unusually-high trading volume on Friday . Approximately 10,030,067 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 716% from the previous session’s volume of 1,228,735 shares.The stock last traded at $26.28 and had previously closed at $26.23.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on PRMW shares. StockNews.com lowered Primo Water from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, October 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $30.00 price objective on shares of Primo Water in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Raymond James cut shares of Primo Water from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, William Blair initiated coverage on shares of Primo Water in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $25.83.

Primo Water Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $4.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 2.18 and a quick ratio of 2.07. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $25.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.60.

Primo Water (NYSE:PRMW) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.02. Primo Water had a net margin of 12.61% and a return on equity of 8.94%. The company had revenue of $485.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $477.40 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.22 EPS. Primo Water’s quarterly revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Primo Water Co. will post 0.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Primo Water Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a — dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 5th. This represents a dividend yield of 1.3%. Primo Water’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.78%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Primo Water

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PRMW. Cedar Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Primo Water during the first quarter worth $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Primo Water by 375.9% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,242 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 981 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Primo Water by 52.1% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,871 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 641 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Primo Water in the 3rd quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new position in Primo Water in the 1st quarter valued at about $66,000. Institutional investors own 87.71% of the company’s stock.

Primo Water Company Profile

Primo Water Corporation provides pure-play water solutions for residential and commercial customers. It offers bottled water, water dispensers, purified bottled water, self-service refill drinking water, premium spring, mineral water, sparkling and flavored essence water, filtration units, and coffee.