Surgery Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:SGRY) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Surgery Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:SGRY) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twelve brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $22.1818.

SGRY has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Surgery Partners in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $17.00 price target on shares of Surgery Partners in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. US Capital Advisors set a $21.00 price target on Surgery Partners in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on Surgery Partners from $31.00 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Surgery Partners from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th.

Surgery Partners Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SGRY opened at $13.40 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.75 billion, a PE ratio of -22.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.42 and a beta of 1.99. Surgery Partners has a fifty-two week low of $11.41 and a fifty-two week high of $24.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a current ratio of 1.86. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $13.23 and a 200-day moving average of $14.93.

Surgery Partners (NASDAQ:SGRY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($0.03) earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.04 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Surgery Partners will post 0.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Surgery Partners announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 26th that allows the company to buyback $200.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 9.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Surgery Partners

In related news, insider Danielle Burkhalter sold 3,469 shares of Surgery Partners stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.83, for a total transaction of $44,507.27. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 76,864 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $986,165.12. This trade represents a 4.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jason Eric Evans sold 20,400 shares of Surgery Partners stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 920,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,477,213.42. This represents a 2.17% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 96,896 shares of company stock valued at $1,284,058 in the last ninety days. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Surgery Partners

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in Surgery Partners by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 13,537,984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $209,162,000 after buying an additional 501,401 shares during the period. Pentwater Capital Management LP boosted its stake in Surgery Partners by 66.9% during the third quarter. Pentwater Capital Management LP now owns 11,681,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $252,777,000 after buying an additional 4,681,000 shares during the period. UBS Group AG boosted its stake in Surgery Partners by 111.4% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 7,803,974 shares of the company’s stock valued at $120,571,000 after buying an additional 4,113,052 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Surgery Partners by 5.9% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,614,514 shares of the company’s stock valued at $164,778,000 after buying an additional 424,518 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Surgery Partners by 7.9% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,296,411 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,131,000 after buying an additional 389,831 shares during the period.

About Surgery Partners

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.