Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) Short Interest Down 13.2% in March

Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 16,430,000 shares, a drop of 13.2% from the February 28th total of 18,930,000 shares. Currently, 18.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,500,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 11.0 days.

Premier Stock Up 0.2 %

NASDAQ PINC traded up $0.03 on Thursday, reaching $19.58. The company had a trading volume of 168,519 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,245,465. Premier has a 52 week low of $17.23 and a 52 week high of $23.56. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $19.17 and its 200-day moving average is $20.46. The stock has a market cap of $1.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -195.78 and a beta of 0.39.

Premier Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, March 1st were paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.29%. Premier’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -840.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Premier

In other news, Director Helen M. Boudreau sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.42, for a total transaction of $53,550.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 20,668 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $442,708.56. This represents a 10.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Premier

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its stake in Premier by 61,750.0% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,237 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,235 shares in the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Premier by 157.8% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,284 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 786 shares during the period. Keystone Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Premier in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Premier by 297.9% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,906 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 1,427 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Premier during the third quarter worth about $39,000. 74.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Premier from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Premier from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on Premier from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.17.

Premier Company Profile

Premier, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a healthcare improvement company in the United States. It operates in two segments, Supply Chain Services and Performance Services. The Supply Chain Services segment offers its members with an access to a range of products and services, including medical and surgical products, pharmaceuticals, laboratory supplies, capital equipment, information technology, facilities and construction, and food and nutritional products, as well as purchased services, such as clinical engineering and workforce solutions.