Short Interest in Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI) Expands By 22.0%

Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 214,200 shares, an increase of 22.0% from the October 31st total of 175,600 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 135,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.6 days. Approximately 0.7% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John A. Jr. Addison sold 2,000 shares of Primerica stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.85, for a total value of $507,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 15,151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,846,081.35. The trade was a 11.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 3,000 shares of Primerica stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.27, for a total value of $903,810.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,942,728.94. This represents a 7.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PRI. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Primerica by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,237,164 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $292,688,000 after acquiring an additional 17,095 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Primerica by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 696,839 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $184,807,000 after acquiring an additional 25,951 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Primerica by 30,726.7% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 680,961 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $161,102,000 after acquiring an additional 678,752 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Primerica by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 637,753 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $150,880,000 after acquiring an additional 21,836 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in shares of Primerica by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 121,349 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,176,000 after acquiring an additional 5,323 shares in the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PRI has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Primerica from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Primerica from $314.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Primerica from $257.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Primerica in a research report on Friday, August 30th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $283.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com raised Primerica from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $293.50.

Primerica Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PRI traded down $2.99 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $299.76. 53,030 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 152,823. Primerica has a 1 year low of $184.76 and a 1 year high of $307.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.77 and a beta of 1.08. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $282.86 and a 200 day moving average of $257.28.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $5.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.81 by $0.87. The firm had revenue of $774.13 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $745.25 million. Primerica had a net margin of 14.95% and a return on equity of 30.93%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.28 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Primerica will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Primerica declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, November 14th that authorizes the company to buyback $450.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 4.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Primerica Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.20%. Primerica’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.50%.

About Primerica

Primerica, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides financial products and services to middle-income households in the United States and Canada. The company operates in four segments: Term Life Insurance; Investment and Savings Products; Senior Health; and Corporate and Other Distributed Products.