Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) Upgraded to Strong-Buy by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Premier (NASDAQ:PINC – Get Rating) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Thursday morning.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on PINC. Zacks Investment Research lowered shares of Premier from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Thursday, May 12th. Guggenheim initiated coverage on shares of Premier in a research note on Wednesday, April 13th. They set a neutral rating on the stock. Credit Suisse Group initiated coverage on shares of Premier in a research note on Friday, April 1st. They set an underperform rating and a $35.00 target price on the stock. SVB Leerink restated an outperform rating on shares of Premier in a research note on Tuesday, May 3rd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group cut their target price on shares of Premier from $47.00 to $44.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $42.57.

Shares of PINC opened at $36.55 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.31 billion, a PE ratio of 15.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.28. Premier has a 1 year low of $32.57 and a 1 year high of $42.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.88. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $36.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.80.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 3rd. The company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $347.84 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $340.10 million. Premier had a net margin of 18.14% and a return on equity of 12.13%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.55 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Premier will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current year.

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 1st will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 31st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.19%. Premier’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.63%.

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Premier in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its position in shares of Premier by 124.3% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,559 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 864 shares during the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Premier during the fourth quarter worth approximately $91,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Premier during the first quarter worth approximately $84,000. Finally, Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY purchased a new position in shares of Premier during the fourth quarter worth approximately $100,000. Institutional investors own 67.78% of the company’s stock.

About Premier (Get Rating)

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 document shredding.

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