Wall Street Zen Upgrades Palomar (NASDAQ:PLMR) to “Buy”

Palomar (NASDAQ:PLMR) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on the company. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Palomar from $168.00 to $134.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Palomar in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Palomar from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Palomar from $170.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $159.50.

Palomar Price Performance

PLMR opened at $128.69 on Friday. Palomar has a fifty-two week low of $98.42 and a fifty-two week high of $175.85. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $127.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $126.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.08 and a beta of 0.42.

Palomar (NASDAQ:PLMR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, December 16th. The company reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $65.74 million for the quarter. Palomar had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 21.93%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Palomar will post 5.99 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Mac Armstrong sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.86, for a total transaction of $614,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 358,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,031,549.68. This trade represents a 1.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO T Christopher Uchida sold 782 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.84, for a total transaction of $100,752.88. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 7,916 shares in the company, valued at $1,019,897.44. The trade was a 8.99% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 16,494 shares of company stock valued at $2,004,566 over the last 90 days. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palomar

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Palomar during the first quarter valued at approximately $314,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its position in Palomar by 93.7% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 19,370 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,933,000 after purchasing an additional 9,371 shares during the period. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in Palomar during the 1st quarter valued at $1,124,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its holdings in Palomar by 256.0% during the second quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 41,785 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,445,000 after buying an additional 30,049 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of Palomar in the second quarter valued at $1,053,000. Institutional investors own 90.25% of the company’s stock.

About Palomar

Palomar Holdings, Inc (NASDAQ: PLMR) is a specialty insurance holding company focused on providing medical stop-loss coverage and related administrative services to self-funded employer health plans in the United States. The firm operates through two primary business segments—Medical Stop-Loss and Specialty Program Management—to deliver tailored risk protection and comprehensive program administration.

In its Medical Stop-Loss segment, Palomar underwrites excess and aggregate stop-loss policies designed to shield self-insured employers from catastrophic medical claims that exceed pre-determined retention levels.