Photo above: Primerica’s corporate headquarters in Duluth, Ga.
Third-quarter financials exceeded expectations at financial services firm Primerica Inc. (PRI—NYSE).
Quarterly earnings amounted to $1.22 per share, topping the Zacks consensus estimate of $1.13. EPS represented a 25 percent increase from the prior-year period, as a result of earnings growth and ongoing share repurchases.
The Georgia company said sales rose 8 percent in the quarter to $383.6 million, in comparison to the $378.6 million predicted by analysts. Revenue in the term life insurance segment was up 13 percent from a year ago, while sales of the company’s investment and savings products edged up 1 percent.
“We delivered double-digit increases in the size of our life insurance licensed sales force and term life insurance policies issued year-over-year,” said Glenn Williams, Primerica CEO. “Our sales force leadership, successful execution of building distribution and significant capital deployment position us to continue to deliver value for our stakeholders.”
In the quarter ended Sept. 30, Primerica had a return on equity of 17.32 percent and a net margin of 13.90 percent.
The company repurchased $41.0 million or approximately 743,000 shares of its common stock in the quarter, for a year-to-date buyback of $131.5 million, or 2.7 million shares.
