Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,430,000 shares, a decline of 29.8% from the March 15th total of 6,310,000 shares. Currently, 3.7% of the company's shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,650,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.7 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PINC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Leerink Partnrs reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Premier in a report on Monday, February 26th. StockNews.com downgraded Premier from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Barclays began coverage on Premier in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $22.00 price objective for the company. Finally, SVB Leerink began coverage on Premier in a report on Monday, February 26th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $22.50 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $25.15.

Premier Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PINC traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $21.09. 1,282,089 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,602,103. The stock has a market cap of $2.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.17, a P/E/G ratio of 5.37 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. Premier has a 12-month low of $18.89 and a 12-month high of $33.58. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $21.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $21.20.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 11.60% and a net margin of 12.71%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Premier will post 1.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Premier Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.98%. Premier's dividend payout ratio is currently 60.43%.

Institutional Trading of Premier

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PINC. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Premier by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,013,386 shares of the company's stock valued at $301,288,000 after purchasing an additional 1,597,067 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS purchased a new position in shares of Premier in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,712,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Premier by 984.9% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 518,964 shares of the company's stock worth $11,158,000 after purchasing an additional 471,131 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Comerica Bank purchased a new position in shares of Premier in the 2nd quarter worth about $10,194,000. 74.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.