Principal Financial Group Inc. Increases Stake in Primoris Services Co. (NASDAQ:PRIM)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Primoris Services Co. (NASDAQ:PRIM) by 45.0% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 50,620 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,710 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Primoris Services were worth $2,940,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PRIM. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Primoris Services by 414.2% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 725 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 584 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Primoris Services by 27.3% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 919 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its position in Primoris Services by 25.1% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,095 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Primoris Services during the 2nd quarter valued at about $70,000. Finally, Canton Hathaway LLC purchased a new stake in Primoris Services during the 2nd quarter valued at about $100,000. 91.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Primoris Services Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PRIM opened at $83.02 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.46 billion, a PE ratio of 27.30 and a beta of 1.05. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $65.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.86. Primoris Services Co. has a twelve month low of $29.14 and a twelve month high of $83.81.

Primoris Services (NASDAQ:PRIM) last issued 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 business had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.02 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Primoris Services Co. will post 3.45 EPS for the current year.

Primoris Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.39%. This is an increase from Primoris Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. Primoris Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.60%.

Insider Activity

In other Primoris Services news, insider John M. Perisich sold 4,391 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.33, for a total transaction of $242,954.03. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John P. Schauerman sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.25, for a total value of $1,481,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 137,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,133,899.25. The trade was a 15.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 75,409 shares of company stock valued at $4,762,468 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PRIM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated 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. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Primoris Services from $60.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Primoris Services from $75.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Primoris Services from $51.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.50.

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.