Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO) Given Average Recommendation of "Hold" by Analysts

Key Points

• Perrigo Company plc has received an average recommendation of "Hold" from analysts, with three holding and two buying ratings; the average price target is $33.00.
• The company reported a quarterly EPS of $0.57, missing expectations, and a revenue of $1.06 billion, which was also below the consensus estimate.
• Perrigo announced a quarterly dividend of $0.29 per share, representing a yield of 5.1%, set to be paid on September 16th.

Shares of Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO - Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of "Hold" from the five research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $33.00.

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on PRGO shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Perrigo from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Perrigo from $38.00 to $35.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their target price on shares of Perrigo from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday.

Perrigo Stock Down 3.3%

Shares of PRGO traded down $0.79 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $22.83. 4,135,987 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,470,782. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The company's 50 day moving average is $26.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.35. The company has a market capitalization of $3.14 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.42 and a beta of 0.47. Perrigo has a 52 week low of $21.03 and a 52 week high of $30.93.

Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.59 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.08 billion. Perrigo had a positive return on equity of 8.93% and a negative net margin of 4.16%. The company's revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.53 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Perrigo will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Perrigo Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be paid a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. Perrigo's dividend payout ratio is presently -88.55%.

Institutional Trading of Perrigo

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PRGO. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Perrigo by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 313,849 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,800,000 after purchasing an additional 914 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Perrigo by 0.6% in the first quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,894,739 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,128,000 after buying an additional 11,256 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. acquired a new stake in shares of Perrigo in the first quarter valued at about $1,619,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Perrigo by 91.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,685 shares of the company's stock worth $103,000 after purchasing an additional 1,765 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Beach Investment Counsel Inc. PA acquired a new position in Perrigo in the 1st quarter worth $1,526,000. 95.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Perrigo Company Profile

Perrigo Company plc provides over-the-counter health and wellness solutions to enhance individual well-being in the United States, Europe, and internationally. It operates through Consumer Self-Care Americas and Consumer Self-Care International segments. The company develops, manufactures, markets, and distributes self-care consumer products, such as upper respiratory products, including cough suppressants, expectorants, and sinus and allergy relief; nutrition products consisting of infant formulas and nutritional beverages; digestive health products, including antacids, anti-diarrheal, and anti-heartburn; pain and sleep-aids products comprising pain relievers and fever reducers; and oral care products, which include toothbrushes, toothbrush replacement heads, floss, flossers, whitening products, and toothbrush covers.

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