Primoris Services (NASDAQ:PRIM) Shares Down 14.1% - Time to Sell?

Primoris Services Co. (NASDAQ:PRIM - Get Free Report) shares traded down 14.1% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $73.04 and last traded at $74.24. 307,522 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 42% from the average session volume of 527,505 shares. The stock had previously closed at $86.43.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PRIM has been the subject of several recent research reports. KeyCorp began coverage on Primoris Services in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $96.00 price target for the company. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Primoris Services from $60.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Primoris Services from $51.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Primoris Services in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $71.00 target price on the stock. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Primoris Services from $75.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $88.67.

Primoris Services Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $3.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.86 and a beta of 1.14. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $81.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $66.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Primoris Services (NASDAQ:PRIM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The construction company reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.58 billion. Primoris Services had a net margin of 2.68% and a return on equity of 15.23%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.02 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Primoris Services Co. will post 3.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Primoris Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. This is a positive change from Primoris Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. Primoris Services's dividend payout ratio is presently 10.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Primoris Services news, CEO Thomas Edward Mccormick sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.28, for a total transaction of $1,219,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 61,390 shares in the company, valued at $4,989,779.20. This represents a 19.64 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director David Lee King sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.14, for a total transaction of $152,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 25,818 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,965,782.52. This trade represents a 7.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 23,018 shares of company stock valued at $1,854,974. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Primoris Services

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PRIM. Summit Partners Public Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Primoris Services by 80.6% during the 3rd quarter. Summit Partners Public Asset Management LLC now owns 839,853 shares of the construction company's stock worth $48,779,000 after buying an additional 374,926 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in shares of Primoris Services by 549.4% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 246,949 shares of the construction company's stock worth $14,343,000 after acquiring an additional 208,920 shares during the last quarter. Yaupon Capital Management LP raised its position in Primoris Services by 28.4% in the 3rd quarter. Yaupon Capital Management LP now owns 699,817 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $40,645,000 after purchasing an additional 154,627 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Primoris Services by 17.7% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 607,010 shares of the construction company's stock worth $35,255,000 after purchasing an additional 91,235 shares during the period. Finally, Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. purchased a new position in Primoris Services during the 3rd quarter worth $5,107,000. 91.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.