Lazard Asset Management LLC Buys 51,404 Shares of Primoris Services Co. (NASDAQ:PRIM)

Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Primoris Services Co. (NASDAQ:PRIM) by 1,435.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 54,985 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 51,404 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Primoris Services were worth $4,200,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. USA Financial Formulas bought a new position in Primoris Services during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Primoris Services by 3,552.4% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 767 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 746 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Primoris Services by 63.2% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 886 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in shares of Primoris Services by 4,550.0% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 930 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 910 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Primoris Services in the 4th quarter valued at $97,000. Institutional investors own 91.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on PRIM shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Primoris Services in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $73.00 price target on the stock. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Primoris Services in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Primoris Services from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $110.00 price target on shares of Primoris Services in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Primoris Services from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $85.75.

Primoris Services Trading Down 1.7%

NASDAQ PRIM opened at $75.49 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.00 and a beta of 1.33. Primoris Services Co. has a twelve month low of $45.92 and a twelve month high of $90.86. The business’s fifty day moving average is $61.70 and its 200 day moving average is $71.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Primoris Services (NASDAQ:PRIM) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The construction company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. Primoris Services had a return on equity of 15.23% and a net margin of 2.68%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.47 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Primoris Services Co. will post 3.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Primoris Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Primoris Services’s payout ratio is presently 8.47%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Thomas Edward Mccormick sold 61,390 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.10, for a total value of $3,935,099.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 46,796 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,999,623.60. The trade was a 56.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Stephen C. Cook sold 998 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.00, for a total value of $67,864.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,377 shares in the company, valued at $501,636. This represents a 11.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 66,888 shares of company stock valued at $4,310,043. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Primoris Services

Primoris Services Corporation, a specialty contractor company, provides a range of specialty construction, fabrication, maintenance, replacement, and engineering services in the United States and Canada. The company operates through Utilities and Energy/Renewables segments. The Utilities segment offers installation and maintenance services for new and existing natural gas distribution systems, electric utility distribution and transmission systems, and communications systems.