Palomar (NASDAQ:PLMR) Hits New 52-Week High Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Palomar Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLMR - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high on Monday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $155.94 and last traded at $155.35, with a volume of 113051 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $151.81.

The company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $174.63 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $161.97 million. Palomar had a net margin of 21.23% and a return on equity of 19.76%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.09 EPS.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on PLMR. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Palomar from $150.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Palomar in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Palomar from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Palomar from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Palomar from $145.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $148.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palomar

In other news, CEO Mac Armstrong sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.72, for a total transaction of $648,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 402,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,197,771.36. This represents a 1.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO T Christopher Uchida sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.00, for a total transaction of $139,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,172 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,413,908. This represents a 8.95 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 17,254 shares of company stock valued at $2,443,484. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palomar

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Palomar by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,574,923 shares of the company's stock worth $271,886,000 after purchasing an additional 53,123 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Palomar by 36.6% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 785,419 shares of the company's stock valued at $82,932,000 after buying an additional 210,523 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Palomar by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 618,840 shares of the company's stock worth $65,358,000 after acquiring an additional 18,748 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP raised its position in shares of Palomar by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 618,598 shares of the company's stock valued at $84,797,000 after acquiring an additional 25,138 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Palomar by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 561,740 shares of the company's stock valued at $59,313,000 after purchasing an additional 17,320 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.25% of the company's stock.

Palomar Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $141.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $119.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.70 and a beta of 0.51.

Palomar Company Profile

Palomar Holdings, Inc, a specialty insurance company, provides property and casualty insurance to residential and businesses in the United States. The company offers personal and commercial specialty property insurance products, including residential and commercial earthquake, fronting, commercial all risk, specialty homeowners, inland marine, Hawaii hurricane, and residential flood, as well as other products, such as assumed reinsurance.