Primoris Services (NASDAQ:PRIM) Reaches New 1-Year High After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Shares of Primoris Services Co. (NASDAQ:PRIM - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $52.75 and last traded at $50.56, with a volume of 88390 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $47.80.

The construction company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.39. Primoris Services had a return on equity of 13.20% and a net margin of 2.21%. The business had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.18 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year.

Primoris Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were paid a $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. Primoris Services's dividend payout ratio is presently 10.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PRIM. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Primoris Services from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Primoris Services from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Primoris Services from $44.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Primoris Services from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Travis L. Stricker sold 7,500 shares of Primoris Services stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total value of $300,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,068 shares in the company, valued at approximately $362,720. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Primoris Services news, CAO Travis L. Stricker sold 7,500 shares of Primoris Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total value of $300,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,068 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $362,720. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director David Lee King sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.69, for a total value of $101,725.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 29,217 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,188,839.73. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 50,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,040,125 over the last quarter. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Primoris Services

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Primoris Services by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,595,569 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $119,410,000 after purchasing an additional 109,481 shares during the period. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Primoris Services by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. now owns 2,124,148 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $69,523,000 after buying an additional 117,414 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Primoris Services by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,722,707 shares of the construction company's stock worth $56,384,000 after buying an additional 18,872 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its stake in shares of Primoris Services by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,005,360 shares of the construction company's stock worth $33,388,000 after acquiring an additional 41,983 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Primoris Services by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 599,941 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $19,636,000 after acquiring an additional 8,082 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.82% of the company's stock.

Primoris Services Price Performance

The firm's 50 day moving average is $43.41 and its 200 day moving average is $36.65. The firm has a market cap of $2.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.62 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.41.

Primoris Services Company 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.