Benchmark Reaffirms “Buy” Rating for Surgery Partners (NASDAQ:SGRY)

Surgery Partners (NASDAQ:SGRY)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by equities research analysts at Benchmark in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $50.00 target price on the stock. Benchmark’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 103.83% from the company’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on SGRY. StockNews.com raised shares of Surgery Partners from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $43.00 target price on shares of Surgery Partners in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Surgery Partners from $43.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Barclays assumed coverage on Surgery Partners in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $35.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $49.00 target price on shares of Surgery Partners in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.63.

Surgery Partners Trading Down 1.9 %

NASDAQ SGRY traded down $0.47 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $24.53. 887,364 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 887,843. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $27.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $29.73. Surgery Partners has a 12-month low of $22.05 and a 12-month high of $45.79. The firm has a market cap of $3.12 billion, a P/E ratio of -245.30, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 2.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 1.57.

Surgery Partners (NASDAQ:SGRY) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 26th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $735.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $741.93 million. Surgery Partners had a positive return on equity of 3.65% and a negative net margin of 0.43%. Surgery Partners’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.22 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Surgery Partners will post 0.78 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Surgery Partners news, insider Bradley R. Owens sold 1,040 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.22, for a total value of $36,628.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 73,149 shares in the company, valued at $2,576,307.78. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Jason Eric Evans sold 4,840 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.71, for a total value of $143,796.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 459,670 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,656,795.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Bradley R. Owens sold 1,040 shares of Surgery Partners stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.22, for a total value of $36,628.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 73,149 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,576,307.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,831 shares of company stock worth $482,609 in the last quarter. 2.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Surgery Partners

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of SGRY. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in Surgery Partners by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 61,188 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,790,000 after purchasing an additional 736 shares in the last quarter. Redwood Investments LLC raised its holdings in Surgery Partners by 218.7% in the 3rd quarter. Redwood Investments LLC now owns 346,788 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,144,000 after acquiring an additional 237,970 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Surgery Partners by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 317,983 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,301,000 after acquiring an additional 18,900 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in Surgery Partners by 15.2% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 10,506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $307,000 after purchasing an additional 1,387 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Surgery Partners in the 3rd quarter worth $499,000.

Surgery Partners Company Profile

Surgery Partners, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, owns and operates a network of surgical facilities and ancillary services in the United States. The company provides ambulatory surgery centers and surgical hospitals that offer non-emergency surgical procedures in various specialties, including orthopedics and pain management, ophthalmology, gastroenterology, and general surgery.