Surgery Partners (NASDAQ:SGRY) Upgraded by Zacks Research to “Strong-Buy” Rating

Surgery Partners (NASDAQ:SGRY) was upgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on SGRY. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Surgery Partners from $28.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Surgery Partners in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $17.00 price objective on shares of Surgery Partners in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Surgery Partners in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Surgery Partners from $18.00 to $14.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.18.

Surgery Partners Stock Up 0.2%

NASDAQ:SGRY opened at $13.71 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market cap of $1.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -22.85, a PEG ratio of 5.27 and a beta of 1.96. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $13.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $14.56. Surgery Partners has a 1 year low of $11.41 and a 1 year high of $24.10.

Surgery Partners (NASDAQ:SGRY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($0.03) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.15) by $0.12. The company had revenue of $810.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $797.69 million. Surgery Partners had a positive return on equity of 1.04% and a negative net margin of 2.28%.Surgery Partners’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.04 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Surgery Partners will post 0.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Surgery Partners announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, February 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 9.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Surgery Partners

In other Surgery Partners news, CEO Jason Eric Evans sold 20,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was 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. This trade represents a 2.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Marissa Brittenham sold 3,657 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.54, for a total value of $45,858.78. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 94,196 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,181,217.84. This trade represents a 3.74% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 42,191 shares of company stock worth $531,951. 2.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in shares of Surgery Partners by 313.1% in the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,227 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 930 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its position in shares of Surgery Partners by 45,640.0% in the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,287 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 2,282 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Surgery Partners by 128.4% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,702 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 1,519 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in shares of Surgery Partners by 5,324.0% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 4,068 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 3,993 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Surgery Partners in the 3rd quarter worth about $121,000.

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.