PACS Group (NYSE:PACS) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

PACS Group, Inc. (NYSE:PACS) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $45.89 and last traded at $44.6830, with a volume of 1312827 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.48.

Key PACS Group News

Here are the key news stories impacting PACS Group this week:

• Negative Sentiment: Director Mark Hancock sold 142,163 shares at an average price of $45.33, worth about $6.4 million, in a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The filing follows several other recent sales by Hancock, adding to concerns that insiders may be taking profits after the stock’s strong run. PACS Group (NYSE:PACS) Director Sells 142,163 Shares
• Neutral Sentiment: Earlier insider transactions also showed Hancock selling 12,825 shares and 6,080 shares, while Chief Accounting Officer Michelle Renee Lewis sold multiple smaller blocks of stock. These trades were also made under pre-arranged plans, so they do not necessarily signal a fundamental change in the business, but they may still pressure sentiment. PACS Group insider trading update
• Neutral Sentiment: The company’s recent earnings and analyst backdrop remain supportive: PACS previously beat EPS and revenue estimates, and analysts maintain a moderate buy rating with a price target around $48. That positive setup may be helping limit downside despite the insider selling. PACS Group stock overview

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of PACS Group from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Zacks Research cut shares of PACS Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of PACS Group from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of PACS Group in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of PACS Group from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $48.00.

PACS Group Trading Up 0.5%

The company has a market cap of $7.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.51, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of -0.08. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $37.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

PACS Group (NYSE:PACS) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.08. PACS Group had a return on equity of 26.47% and a net margin of 4.49%.The business had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.36 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that PACS Group, Inc. will post 2.23 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Michelle Renee Lewis sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.01, for a total value of $600,150.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 370,338 shares in the company, valued at $14,817,223.38. This represents a 3.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider John Todd Mitchell sold 52,763 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.02, for a total transaction of $2,006,049.26. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 830,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,592,909.10. This represents a 5.97% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 771,220 shares of company stock valued at $30,470,994 over the last ninety days. 70.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PACS Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PACS. Hollencrest Capital Management bought a new stake in PACS Group during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Quarry LP grew its holdings in PACS Group by 79.5% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,388 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 1,058 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of PACS Group by 127.0% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,094 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 612 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV bought a new position in shares of PACS Group in the 1st quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Western Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of PACS Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $48,000.

About PACS Group

PACS Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates skilled nursing facilities and assisted living facilities in the United States. The company also provides senior care and independent facilities. It engages in the acquisition, ownership, and leasing of health care-related properties. The company was founded in 2013 and is based in Farmington, Utah.