Palomar (NASDAQ:PLMR) Hits New 52-Week High After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Palomar Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLMR) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $155.02 and last traded at $154.0130, with a volume of 22,765 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $144.04.

The company reported $3.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.56 by $0.45. The company had revenue of $386.59 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $754.28 million. Palomar had a net margin of 18.61% and a return on equity of 23.28%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.01 EPS.

Palomar Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 17th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 17th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Palomar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on PLMR. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Palomar from $166.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Zacks Research downgraded Palomar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Evercore set a $152.00 price objective on Palomar in a report on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings cut Palomar from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Palomar from $167.00 to $156.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $160.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palomar

In other Palomar news, CFO T. Christopher Uchida sold 791 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.74, for a total transaction of $101,042.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 16,238 shares in the company, valued at $2,074,242.12. This trade represents a 4.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Jonathan Knutzen sold 296 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.75, for a total value of $37,814.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 28,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,608,937.50. This represents a 1.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last three months, insiders sold 12,115 shares of company stock worth $1,619,923. Insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Palomar by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 3,410 shares of the company’s stock worth $429,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its holdings in Palomar by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 9,434 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,163,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. increased its position in Palomar by 12.4% in the third quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 3,053 shares of the company’s stock worth $376,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares during the period. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC acquired a new position in Palomar in the third quarter valued at approximately $6,596,000. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Palomar by 31.8% during the third quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 3,897 shares of the company’s stock worth $480,000 after buying an additional 940 shares during the last quarter. 90.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Palomar Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market cap of $4.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.19 and a beta of 0.28. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $133.99 and its 200-day moving average is $126.62.

About Palomar

Palomar Holdings, Inc is a specialty insurance company that provides property and casualty insurance products in markets that may be underserved by traditional insurers. The company focuses on risks that are complex, difficult to place or exposed to natural catastrophes, using specialized underwriting and risk-management capabilities.

Its offerings include residential and commercial earthquake insurance, inland marine coverage, specialty property insurance, casualty products, workers’ compensation and other tailored insurance solutions.