Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) Shares Down 8.8% After Earnings Miss

Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) shares traded down 8.8% on Tuesday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock traded as low as $20.44 and last traded at $20.44. 249,541 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 1,124,055 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.40.

The company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.29 by ($0.04). Premier had a net margin of 11.41% and a return on equity of 10.74%.

Premier Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 15th. Investors of record on Saturday, March 1st will be paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Premier’s payout ratio is presently 61.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Helen M. Boudreau sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.42, for a total value of $53,550.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 20,668 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $442,708.56. The trade was a 10.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 17,415 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.16, for a total transaction of $403,331.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 520,728 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,060,060.48. The trade was a 3.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 59,425 shares of company stock valued at $1,320,242. Insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Premier

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PINC. Algert Global LLC bought a new stake in Premier in the second quarter valued at about $225,000. Creative Planning grew its stake in Premier by 29.6% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 50,980 shares of the company’s stock worth $952,000 after buying an additional 11,645 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Premier during the third quarter worth about $678,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its stake in Premier by 27.5% during the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 41,295 shares of the company’s stock worth $826,000 after buying an additional 8,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Premier by 137.6% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,347 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 780 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.41% of the company’s stock.

Premier Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.08 and a beta of 0.43. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $21.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $20.96.

About Premier

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.