Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) Downgraded to Hold at Canaccord Genuity Group

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) was downgraded by stock analysts at Canaccord Genuity Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. They presently have a $21.00 target price on the stock, down from their previous target price of $27.00. Canaccord Genuity Group’s target price suggests a potential upside of 8.19% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the company. Leerink Partnrs restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Premier in a research note on Monday, February 26th. SVB Leerink initiated coverage on Premier in a research note on Monday, February 26th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $22.50 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Premier from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $24.77.

Premier Stock Performance

Shares of Premier stock opened at $19.41 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $21.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $21.22. Premier has a 1-year low of $18.89 and a 1-year high of $28.30. The company has a market cap of $2.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.96, a PEG ratio of 5.22 and a beta of 0.39.

Premier (NASDAQ:PINC) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $334.75 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $338.55 million. Premier had a return on equity of 11.60% and a net margin of 12.71%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Premier will post 1.95 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Premier

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PINC. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Premier by 153.3% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,583 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 958 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Premier by 71.7% during the fourth quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,660 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 693 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in Premier by 141.2% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,980 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 1,159 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its stake in Premier by 53.0% in the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 2,138 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 741 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janiczek Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Premier by 246.5% in the fourth quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,533 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 1,802 shares during the last quarter. 74.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.