Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) Sets New 52-Week Low Following Analyst Downgrade

Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) shares reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on the stock from $25.00 to $22.00. Robert W. Baird 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.

PINC has been the subject of several other reports. Leerink Partnrs reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Premier in a report on Monday, February 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $21.00 price target (down previously from $27.00) on shares of Premier in a report on Wednesday. Canaccord Genuity Group cut shares of Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $27.00 to $21.00 in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, SVB Leerink began coverage on Premier in a research report on Monday, February 26th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $22.50 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $23.77.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Premier by 12.9% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,013,386 shares of the company’s stock worth $301,288,000 after acquiring an additional 1,597,067 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in Premier by 108.0% in the 3rd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 350,447 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,535,000 after purchasing an additional 181,979 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS bought a new position in shares of Premier during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,712,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Premier by 984.9% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 518,964 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,158,000 after buying an additional 471,131 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its stake in shares of Premier by 151.3% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 59,795 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,337,000 after buying an additional 36,000 shares during the period. 74.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Premier Trading Up 1.1 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.96, a P/E/G ratio of 5.22 and a beta of 0.39. The business has a 50-day moving average of $21.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.22.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $334.75 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $338.55 million. Premier had a return on equity of 11.60% and a net margin of 12.71%. Research analysts predict that Premier, Inc. will post 1.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Premier Announces Dividend

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

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.