Surgery Partners (NASDAQ:SGRY) Stock Rating Lowered by Zacks Research

Surgery Partners (NASDAQ:SGRY) was downgraded by Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on SGRY. US Capital Advisors set a $21.00 price target on shares of Surgery Partners in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on Surgery Partners from $31.00 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Surgery Partners in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Surgery Partners in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Surgery Partners from $18.00 to $14.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.36.

Surgery Partners Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of SGRY stock traded up $0.05 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $12.70. 39,665 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,625,812. The firm has a market cap of $1.64 billion, a P/E ratio of -20.48 and a beta of 1.99. Surgery Partners has a fifty-two week low of $11.41 and a fifty-two week high of $24.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 1.87. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $13.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $16.49.

Surgery Partners (NASDAQ:SGRY) last released its earnings results on Monday, March 2nd. The company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by ($0.19). The company had revenue of $885.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $866.54 million. Surgery Partners had a negative net margin of 2.35% and a positive return on equity of 1.28%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.44 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Surgery Partners will post 0.67 EPS for the current year.

Surgery Partners announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, February 26th that allows the company to buyback $200.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 9.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Surgery Partners

In other Surgery Partners news, CEO Jason Eric Evans sold 20,400 shares of Surgery Partners stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.47, for a total value of $254,388.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 920,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,477,213.42. The trade was a 2.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Baldock sold 5,798 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.17, for a total transaction of $76,359.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 326,474 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,299,662.58. The trade was a 1.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 96,896 shares of company stock worth $1,284,058. 2.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Surgery Partners

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of SGRY. Pentwater Capital Management LP lifted its stake in Surgery Partners by 66.9% in the third quarter. Pentwater Capital Management LP now owns 11,681,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $252,777,000 after purchasing an additional 4,681,000 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its position in Surgery Partners by 111.4% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 7,803,974 shares of the company’s stock worth $120,571,000 after buying an additional 4,113,052 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in Surgery Partners by 528.2% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,959,686 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,277,000 after buying an additional 1,647,714 shares during the last quarter. Glenview Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Surgery Partners in the second quarter valued at $33,995,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Surgery Partners by 25.5% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,860,215 shares of the company’s stock valued at $105,177,000 after buying an additional 988,956 shares during the period.

Surgery Partners Company Profile

Surgery Partners, Inc operates as a healthcare services provider specializing in the management and ownership of ambulatory surgery centers, surgical hospitals and multispecialty rehabilitation hospitals across the United States. Through its network of facilities, the company coordinates and delivers a broad range of outpatient surgical procedures in specialties such as orthopedics, ophthalmology, otolaryngology, gastroenterology, pain management and general surgery. Its integrated platform offers ancillary services including on-site imaging, laboratory testing, infusion therapy and physical, occupational and speech rehabilitation.

Since its establishment in 2010 and subsequent public listing in 2015, Surgery Partners has focused on strategic partnerships with physicians and health systems to expand access to cost-effective outpatient care.