Palomar Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLMR) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Seven analysts have a consensus recommendation of "Buy" on Palomar with an average 12‑month target price of $163.00.
• Palomar beat estimates with quarterly EPS of $2.24 (vs. $2.06 expected) and revenue of $253.36M, up 62.7% year‑over‑year, and sell‑side analysts forecast about 5.99 EPS for the fiscal year.
• Insiders have sold roughly 60,808 shares (~$7.44M) in the last 90 days while corporate insiders own 3.7% and institutional/hedge funds control about 90.25% of the shares.

Palomar Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLMR - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Buy" from the seven ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $163.00.

PLMR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore began coverage on Palomar in a research report on Monday, February 9th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $150.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Palomar from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Palomar from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Palomar from $170.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Palomar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, March 1st.

Palomar Price Performance

NASDAQ:PLMR opened at $120.10 on Friday. Palomar has a 52 week low of $107.75 and a 52 week high of $175.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.21 billion, a PE ratio of 16.73 and a beta of 0.54. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $123.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $123.00.

Palomar (NASDAQ:PLMR - Get Free Report) last released 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. The company had revenue of $253.36 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $204.58 million. Palomar had a return on equity of 22.77% and a net margin of 22.50%.Palomar's quarterly revenue was up 62.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.52 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Palomar will post 5.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palomar

In related news, President Jon Christianson sold 522 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.04, for a total transaction of $66,836.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the president owned 65,919 shares in the company, valued at $8,440,268.76. This represents a 0.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Angela L. Grant sold 260 shares of Palomar stock in a transaction dated Saturday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.75, for a total value of $31,655.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 7,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $856,267.75. The trade was a 3.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 60,808 shares of company stock valued at $7,439,365. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Palomar

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Summit Global Investments raised its stake in Palomar by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 4,646 shares of the company's stock valued at $626,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Palomar by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,546 shares of the company's stock worth $333,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palomar by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 4,464 shares of the company's stock worth $602,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palomar by 31.0% during the third quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 397 shares of the company's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in shares of Palomar by 0.4% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 24,207 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,734,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. 90.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Palomar Company Profile

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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