Primoris Services (NASDAQ:PRIM) Trading Down 14.1% – Here’s What Happened

Primoris Services Co. (NASDAQ:PRIM) traded down 14.1% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $73.04 and last traded at $74.24. 307,522 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 42% from the average session volume of 527,505 shares. The stock had previously closed at $86.43.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on PRIM. KeyCorp began coverage on Primoris Services in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $96.00 target price for the company. UBS Group increased their target price on Primoris Services from $75.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Guggenheim initiated coverage on shares of Primoris Services in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $102.00 price target for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Primoris Services from $51.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Primoris Services from $60.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $91.50.

Primoris Services Stock Up 4.8 %

The stock has a market cap of $3.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.98 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $80.99 and its 200-day moving average is $66.80.

Primoris Services (NASDAQ:PRIM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The construction company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.20. Primoris Services had a net margin of 2.68% and a return on equity of 15.23%. The business had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.58 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.02 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Primoris Services Co. will post 3.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Primoris Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $0.08 dividend. This is a positive change from Primoris Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. Primoris Services’s dividend payout ratio is 10.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Stephen C. Cook sold 4,018 shares of Primoris Services stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.53, for a total value of $315,533.54. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,908 shares in the company, valued at $621,015.24. The trade was a 33.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director David Lee King sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.98, for a total value of $167,960.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 23,818 shares in the company, valued at $2,000,235.64. This trade represents a 7.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 23,018 shares of company stock valued at $1,854,974 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Primoris Services

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Savant Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Primoris Services by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 5,209 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $398,000 after buying an additional 348 shares during the period. Yorktown Management & Research Co Inc acquired a new position in Primoris Services in the 4th quarter worth approximately $313,000. Longboard Asset Management LP acquired a new position in Primoris Services in the 4th quarter worth approximately $208,000. Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new stake in Primoris Services during the 4th quarter valued at $429,000. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Primoris Services by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 12,893 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $985,000 after purchasing an additional 1,134 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.82% of the company’s stock.

About Primoris Services

Primoris Services Corporation, a specialty contractor company, provides a range of specialty construction, fabrication, maintenance, replacement, and engineering services in the United States and Canada. The company operates through Utilities and Energy/Renewables segments. The Utilities segment offers installation and maintenance services for new and existing natural gas distribution systems, electric utility distribution and transmission systems, and communications systems.