StockNews.com Downgrades Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) to Hold

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Tuesday.

PINC has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Premier from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Premier from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Benchmark lowered Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group cut their target price on Premier from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.44.

Premier Stock Performance

PINC stock opened at $23.34 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.43 and a beta of 0.40. Premier has a 1 year low of $17.95 and a 1 year high of $23.43. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.70.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 20th. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.25. Premier had a net margin of 8.88% and a return on equity of 11.69%. The company had revenue of $350.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $308.88 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.70 earnings per share. Premier’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Premier will post 1.04 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Premier news, insider Andy Brailo sold 4,390 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.51, for a total transaction of $90,038.90. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 104,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,141,449.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Premier news, insider Andy Brailo sold 4,390 shares of Premier stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.51, for a total value of $90,038.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 104,410 shares in the company, valued at $2,141,449.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Michael J. Alkire sold 19,362 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.83, for a total value of $403,310.46. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 578,143 shares in the company, valued at $12,042,718.69. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 135,441 shares of company stock valued at $2,738,548 over the last 90 days. 0.96% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Premier

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PINC. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Premier in the 1st quarter worth about $1,686,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of Premier by 4.5% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 59,778 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,321,000 after buying an additional 2,548 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of Premier by 10.5% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 215,636 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,742,000 after buying an additional 20,419 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new position in Premier in the 1st quarter worth approximately $124,000. Finally, Texas Permanent School Fund Corp increased its position in Premier by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 104,863 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,317,000 after acquiring an additional 1,497 shares during the period. 74.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Premier

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.