Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI) Expected to Announce Quarterly Sales of $734.41 Million

Wall Street brokerages forecast that Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI – Get Rating) will post $734.41 million in sales for the current fiscal quarter, Zacks Investment Research reports. Four analysts have issued estimates for Primerica’s earnings, with estimates ranging from $728.30 million to $747.56 million. Primerica posted sales of $636.74 million in the same quarter last year, which would indicate a positive year over year growth rate of 15.3%. The company is scheduled to report its next earnings results on Monday, January 1st.

According to Zacks, analysts expect that Primerica will report full year sales of $3.00 billion for the current year, with estimates ranging from $2.97 billion to $3.05 billion. For the next year, analysts expect that the firm will report sales of $3.19 billion, with estimates ranging from $3.15 billion to $3.26 billion. Zacks’ sales averages are an average based on a survey of research analysts that that provide coverage for Primerica.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $2.94 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.18 by ($0.24). The company had revenue of $724.09 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $713.82 million. Primerica had a return on equity of 22.89% and a net margin of 13.78%. Primerica’s revenue was up 21.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.45 EPS.

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Primerica in a report on Tuesday, February 15th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Primerica in a report on Friday, January 21st. They set a “market perform” rating and a $163.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Primerica in a report on Thursday, March 31st. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Primerica from $159.00 to $157.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 8th. Finally, Zacks Investment Research raised shares of Primerica from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $167.29.

Primerica stock opened at $140.63 on Thursday. Primerica has a 52-week low of $121.22 and a 52-week high of $179.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.01 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $133.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $148.74.

Primerica declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Monday, February 14th that permits the company to buyback $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 0.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 22nd were given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This is a boost from Primerica’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 18th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. Primerica’s payout ratio is presently 23.48%.

In other Primerica news, President Peter W. Schneider sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.49, for a total value of $456,715.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PRI. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Primerica by 1,204.7% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 561 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 518 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI acquired a new position in Primerica in the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. City State Bank acquired a new position in Primerica in the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. Kings Point Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Primerica during the third quarter worth about $50,000. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Primerica by 26.3% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. 88.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Primerica (Get Rating)

Primerica, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides financial products 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. The Term Life Insurance segment underwrites individual term life insurance products.

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