PrimeEnergy (NASDAQ:PNRG) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded PrimeEnergy from buy to hold, while Weiss Ratings also reaffirmed a hold stance. The stock’s consensus rating remains Hold.
• PrimeEnergy shares opened at $239.05, near their 12-month high of $249.50, giving the company a market cap of about $387.3 million. The stock has also been trading above both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Insiders have been selling shares recently, including a director and a major shareholder, with total insider sales of 25,274 shares worth about $5.8 million over the last three months. Despite that, insiders still own a large 65.28% of the company.

PrimeEnergy (NASDAQ:PNRG - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Sunday.

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of PrimeEnergy in a report on Friday, March 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold".

PrimeEnergy Price Performance

Shares of PrimeEnergy stock opened at $239.05 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $216.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $185.28. PrimeEnergy has a 12 month low of $126.40 and a 12 month high of $249.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $387.26 million, a P/E ratio of 22.01 and a beta of -0.15.

PrimeEnergy (NASDAQ:PNRG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The oil and natural gas company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. PrimeEnergy had a return on equity of 12.53% and a net margin of 13.92%.The firm had revenue of $50.06 million for the quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Clint Hurt sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.92, for a total transaction of $2,309,200.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 93,737 shares in the company, valued at $21,645,748.04. The trade was a 9.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Rothschild Robert De sold 13,274 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.60, for a total value of $3,074,258.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 187,483 shares of the company's stock, valued at $43,421,062.80. This trade represents a 6.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 25,274 shares of company stock worth $5,824,338 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 65.28% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of PrimeEnergy

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State of Wyoming raised its holdings in shares of PrimeEnergy by 78.7% during the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 168 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of PrimeEnergy in the third quarter valued at about $38,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in PrimeEnergy during the third quarter worth about $44,000. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in PrimeEnergy during the fourth quarter worth about $52,000. Finally, CWM LLC raised its stake in PrimeEnergy by 673.6% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 410 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares during the period.

About PrimeEnergy

PrimeEnergy Resources Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in acquisition, development, and production of oil and natural gas properties in the United States. The company owns leasehold, mineral, and royalty interests in producing and non-producing oil and gas properties; and operates approximately 534 active wells and owns non-operating interests and royalties in 952 additional wells. It also acquires producing oil and gas properties through joint ventures with industry partners; and provides contract services to third parties, including well-servicing support, site-preparation, and construction services for oil and gas drilling and reworking operations.

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