Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) Reaches New 1-Year Low After Analyst Downgrade

Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) shares hit a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday after Piper Sandler lowered their price target on the stock from $24.00 to $22.00. Piper Sandler currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Premier traded as low as $18.65 and last traded at $19.44, with a volume of 605580 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $19.41.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on PINC. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $21.00 price target (down from $27.00) on shares of Premier in a research note on Wednesday. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $27.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Premier from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Leerink Partnrs reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Premier in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Premier has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $23.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PINC. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Premier by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 33,905 shares of the company’s stock worth $729,000 after buying an additional 518 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of Premier by 22.4% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,289 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 601 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Premier by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 27,382 shares of the company’s stock worth $612,000 after acquiring an additional 642 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Premier by 71.7% in the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,660 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 693 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its holdings in shares of Premier by 53.0% in the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 2,138 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 741 shares during the period. 74.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Premier Trading Up 1.0 %

The firm has a market cap of $2.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.11, a PEG ratio of 5.22 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.43. The business has a fifty day moving average of $21.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.21.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.02. Premier had a return on equity of 11.60% and a net margin of 12.71%. The firm had revenue of $334.75 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $338.55 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that Premier, Inc. will post 1.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Premier Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 15th. Investors of record on Saturday, June 1st will be given a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 31st. Premier’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.43%.

Premier Company Profile

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.