Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Robert W. Baird Analyst Says

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) had its target price lifted by Robert W. Baird from $19.00 to $20.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird’s price objective points to a potential downside of 13.34% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. 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. Benchmark lowered Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Premier from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.44.

Premier Stock Performance

PINC opened at $23.08 on Wednesday. Premier has a one year low of $17.95 and a one year high of $23.43. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $20.08 and its 200-day moving average is $19.72. The company has a market capitalization of $2.31 billion, a PE ratio of 22.41, a P/E/G ratio of 9.43 and a beta of 0.40.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $248.14 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $232.85 million. Premier had a return on equity of 11.69% and a net margin of 8.88%. Premier’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.50 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Premier will post 1.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Premier

In other news, COO Leigh Anderson sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.62, for a total transaction of $392,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 131,707 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,584,091.34. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, 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 transaction of $403,310.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 578,143 shares in the company, valued at $12,042,718.69. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO Leigh Anderson sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.62, for a total value of $392,400.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 131,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,584,091.34. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 135,441 shares of company stock worth $2,738,548 over the last 90 days. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Premier

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

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.