Palomar Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLMR) Stock Rated “Buy” by Sell-Side Brokerages

Palomar Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLMR) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the six analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $160.00.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Palomar from $167.00 to $156.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 9th. Evercore set a $152.00 target price on Palomar in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Zacks Research raised Palomar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. 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. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Palomar from $132.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th.

Palomar Trading Down 5.0%

Shares of PLMR stock opened at $134.06 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $132.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $126.28. Palomar has a 12 month low of $100.81 and a 12 month high of $147.62.

Palomar (NASDAQ:PLMR) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $2.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $314.42 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $621.52 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.76 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Palomar will post 9.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Palomar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 19th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO T. Christopher Uchida sold 791 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.74, for a total value of $101,042.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 16,238 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,074,242.12. This represents a 4.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Mac Armstrong sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.31, for a total transaction of $484,085.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 315,388 shares in the company, valued at $43,621,314.28. This trade represents a 1.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 13,322 shares of company stock worth $1,783,291. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palomar

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PLMR. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palomar during the third quarter worth about $6,596,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 940 shares in the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Palomar during the third quarter worth about $210,000. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Palomar in the 3rd quarter valued at about $282,000. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palomar by 843.0% in the 3rd quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 877 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,000 after purchasing an additional 784 shares during the last quarter. 90.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.