Heartland Advisors Inc. Sells 100,000 Shares of Primoris Services Co. (NASDAQ:PRIM)

Key Points

• Heartland Advisors Inc. has reduced its stake in Primoris Services Co. by 50%, selling 100,000 shares and owning approximately 0.19% of the company, valued at $5.74 million.
• Institutional investment in Primoris Services is strong, with 91.82% of the stock currently owned by institutional investors, and several firms adjusting their stakes recently.
• Analysts maintain a positive outlook with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $91.56, while the stock recently opened at $92.92.

Heartland Advisors Inc. cut its stake in Primoris Services Co. (NASDAQ:PRIM - Free Report) by 50.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 100,000 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 100,000 shares during the quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. owned about 0.19% of Primoris Services worth $5,741,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Primoris Services by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 5,317 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $406,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. bought a new position in Primoris Services in the fourth quarter worth $314,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in Primoris Services by 71.2% in the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 51,573 shares of the construction company's stock worth $3,940,000 after purchasing an additional 21,443 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in Primoris Services during the fourth quarter valued at $834,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Primoris Services by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,244,920 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $477,112,000 after buying an additional 82,261 shares in the last quarter. 91.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $110.00 target price on shares of Primoris Services in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Janney Montgomery Scott initiated coverage on shares of Primoris Services in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $102.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Primoris Services from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Primoris Services from $79.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Primoris Services from $90.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Primoris Services currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $91.56.

Primoris Services Stock Performance

PRIM stock opened at $92.92 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.38. Primoris Services Co. has a 1 year low of $45.92 and a 1 year high of $93.84. The company has a market cap of $5.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.77 and a beta of 1.37. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $78.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $71.83.

Primoris Services (NASDAQ:PRIM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The construction company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.28. Primoris Services had a return on equity of 15.23% and a net margin of 2.68%. The business had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.49 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.47 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Primoris Services Co. will post 3.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Primoris Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.34%. Primoris Services's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.47%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director John P. Schauerman sold 15,000 shares of Primoris Services stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total transaction of $1,160,550.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 102,281 shares in the company, valued at $7,913,480.97. This trade represents a 12.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Primoris Services Profile

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.

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