Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Boosts Palomar (NASDAQ:PLMR) Price Target to $186.00

Key Points

• Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Palomar's price target to $186 and reiterated an "outperform" rating, implying roughly a 48.9% upside from the prior close.
• Strong quarterly results: Palomar reported EPS of $2.24 (vs. $2.06 est.) and revenue of $253.36M (vs. $204.58M est.), with revenue up 62.7% year-over-year and solid profitability (ROE 22.77%, net margin 22.5%).
• Analysts hold a consensus "Buy" with an average price target of $165.50; institutional investors own 90.25% of the stock while insiders sold ~60,808 shares (~$7.44M) over the last three months.

Palomar (NASDAQ:PLMR - Get Free Report) had its price objective hoisted by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $183.00 to $186.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "outperform" rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods' target price would indicate a potential upside of 48.87% from the company's previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Palomar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, March 1st. Evercore began coverage on Palomar in a research note on Monday, February 9th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $150.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Palomar from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Palomar from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $165.50.

Palomar Trading Up 2.5%

Shares of PLMR stock traded up $3.08 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $124.94. 75,722 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 251,409. Palomar has a 1 year low of $107.75 and a 1 year high of $175.85. The stock has a market cap of $3.33 billion, a PE ratio of 17.40 and a beta of 0.54. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $123.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $123.14.

Palomar (NASDAQ:PLMR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $2.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.18. Palomar had a return on equity of 22.77% and a net margin of 22.50%.The business had revenue of $253.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $204.58 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.52 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 62.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Palomar will post 5.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jonathan Knutzen sold 281 shares of Palomar stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.04, for a total transaction of $35,979.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 27,579 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,531,215.16. The trade was a 1.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO T Christopher Uchida sold 783 shares of Palomar stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.04, for a total value of $100,255.32. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 14,752 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,888,846.08. This trade represents a 5.04% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 60,808 shares of company stock valued at $7,439,365. 3.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palomar

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PLMR. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in Palomar by 250.1% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 795,625 shares of the company's stock valued at $107,237,000 after acquiring an additional 568,360 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Palomar by 234.1% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 798,361 shares of the company's stock valued at $123,147,000 after acquiring an additional 559,383 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in Palomar by 290.2% in the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 497,080 shares of the company's stock valued at $76,675,000 after acquiring an additional 369,697 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP lifted its holdings in Palomar by 81.0% in the third quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 738,528 shares of the company's stock valued at $86,223,000 after acquiring an additional 330,592 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Palomar by 72.1% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 785,165 shares of the company's stock valued at $105,809,000 after acquiring an additional 328,993 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.25% of the company's stock.

About Palomar

Palomar Holdings, Inc NASDAQ: PLMR is a specialty insurance holding company focused on providing medical stop-loss coverage and related administrative services to self-funded employer health plans in the United States. The firm operates through two primary business segments—Medical Stop-Loss and Specialty Program Management—to deliver tailored risk protection and comprehensive program administration.

In its Medical Stop-Loss segment, Palomar underwrites excess and aggregate stop-loss policies designed to shield self-insured employers from catastrophic medical claims that exceed pre-determined retention levels.

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