Primo Water (NYSE:PRMW) Lowered to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Primo Water (NYSE:PRMW) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Friday morning.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. TD Securities dropped their target price on shares of Primo Water from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Primo Water from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Raymond James downgraded Primo Water from a strong-buy rating to an outperform rating and set a $21.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $21.25.

Primo Water Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:PRMW traded up $0.24 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $19.89. 1,065,609 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 969,075. The stock has a market cap of $3.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.09. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $17.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $15.72. Primo Water has a 12-month low of $12.27 and a 12-month high of $19.93. The company has a current ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88.

Primo Water (NYSE:PRMW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $438.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $582.93 million. Primo Water had a return on equity of 8.55% and a net margin of 10.82%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Primo Water will post 0.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Primo Water Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.81%. This is a positive change from Primo Water’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. Primo Water’s dividend payout ratio is 24.16%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Primo Water

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Primo Water during the third quarter worth $33,135,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in Primo Water in the 4th quarter worth about $18,559,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Primo Water by 32.2% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,850,165 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,945,000 after buying an additional 937,235 shares in the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Primo Water by 165.7% during the fourth quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,223,570 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,440,000 after buying an additional 763,040 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in shares of Primo Water by 303.5% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 806,004 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,123,000 after buying an additional 606,256 shares in the last quarter. 87.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Primo Water Company Profile

Primo Water Corporation provides pure-play water solutions for residential and commercial customers. It offers bottled water, water dispensers, purified bottled water, self-service refill drinking water, premium spring, mineral water, sparkling and flavored essence water, filtration units, and coffee.