Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) Receives Consensus Rating of "Hold" from Brokerages

Shares of Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the twelve ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $25.15.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on PINC shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Premier from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Premier in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $22.00 price target on the stock. Leerink Partnrs reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Premier in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, SVB Leerink began coverage on shares of Premier in a research report on Monday, February 26th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $22.50 price target on the stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Premier

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Premier by 153.3% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,583 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 958 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV purchased a new stake in shares of Premier during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Premier by 71.7% during the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,660 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 693 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Premier by 141.2% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,980 shares of the company's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 1,159 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its stake in Premier by 53.0% in the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 2,138 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 741 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.41% of the company's stock.

Premier Trading Down 2.1 %

PINC traded down $0.45 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $20.92. 1,343,526 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,653,439. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $2.51 billion, a PE ratio of 15.37, a P/E/G ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 0.38. The stock's 50-day moving average is $21.43 and its 200 day moving average is $21.23. Premier has a 12 month low of $18.89 and a 12 month high of $33.58.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $334.75 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $338.55 million. Premier had a net margin of 12.71% and a return on equity of 11.60%. Equities analysts anticipate that Premier will post 1.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Premier Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.02%. Premier's payout ratio is currently 60.43%.

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.