Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) Issues Earnings Results

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) released its earnings results on Tuesday. The company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.29 by ($0.04), Zacks reports. Premier had a return on equity of 10.74% and a net margin of 11.41%.

Premier Price Performance

Shares of PINC stock opened at $22.40 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $2.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.47 and a beta of 0.43. Premier has a 1-year low of $17.95 and a 1-year high of $23.56. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $21.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $20.96.

Premier Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, March 1st will be issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.75%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Premier’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Premier

In related news, Director Helen M. Boudreau sold 2,500 shares of Premier stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.42, for a total value of $53,550.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 20,668 shares in the company, valued at approximately $442,708.56. The trade was a 10.79 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 17,415 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.16, for a total value of $403,331.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 520,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,060,060.48. This trade represents a 3.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 59,425 shares of company stock worth $1,320,242. 0.96% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays boosted their target price on Premier from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Premier from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on Premier from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat, Premier presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $21.36.

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.