Palomar (NASDAQ:PLMR) Stock Gets Downgrade from Zacks Research

Palomar (NASDAQ:PLMR) was downgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Thursday, Zacks reports.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Palomar from $167.00 to $156.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Palomar from $132.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Palomar from $166.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Palomar from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 16th. Finally, Evercore set a $152.00 price target on shares of Palomar in a report on Friday, July 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $160.00.

Palomar Stock Up 2.3%

Palomar stock opened at $140.32 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $133.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $126.41. Palomar has a 1-year low of $100.81 and a 1-year high of $147.62. The company has a market cap of $3.69 billion, a PE ratio of 18.86 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.50 and a quick ratio of 0.50.

Palomar (NASDAQ:PLMR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $2.36 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $314.42 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $621.52 million. Palomar had a net margin of 18.61% and a return on equity of 23.28%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.76 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Palomar will post 9.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Palomar news, insider Jonathan Knutzen sold 296 shares of Palomar 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 directly owned 28,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,608,937.50. The trade was a 1.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.31, for a total value of $484,085.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 315,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,621,314.28. The trade was 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 ninety days, insiders have sold 12,115 shares of company stock valued at $1,619,923. 3.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PLMR. 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 buying an additional 337 shares during the period. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC bought a new stake in Palomar in the third quarter valued at $6,596,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its stake in Palomar by 31.8% in the third quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 3,897 shares of the company’s stock valued at $480,000 after buying an additional 940 shares during the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Palomar during the third quarter valued at $210,000. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palomar during the third quarter valued at $282,000. 90.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Palomar Company Profile

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.