Surgery Partners (NASDAQ:SGRY) Raised to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

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

SGRY has been the subject of several other research reports. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Surgery Partners from $28.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Surgery Partners from $31.00 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Surgery Partners in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Surgery Partners in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Surgery Partners from $18.00 to $14.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.18.

Surgery Partners Stock Performance

Shares of SGRY stock opened at $13.71 on Thursday. Surgery Partners has a 52 week low of $11.41 and a 52 week high of $24.10. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $13.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $14.56. The firm has a market cap of $1.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -22.85, a P/E/G ratio of 5.27 and a beta of 1.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a current ratio of 1.86.

Surgery Partners (NASDAQ:SGRY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.15) by $0.12. Surgery Partners had a negative net margin of 2.28% and a positive return on equity of 1.04%. The company had revenue of $810.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $797.69 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.04 EPS. Surgery Partners’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Surgery Partners will post 0.19 earnings per share 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 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 9.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Surgery Partners

In related news, CFO David T. Doherty sold 8,867 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.50, for a total transaction of $110,837.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 221,679 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,770,987.50. This represents a 3.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Danielle Burkhalter sold 3,469 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.83, for a total transaction of $44,507.27. Following the sale, the insider owned 76,864 shares in the company, valued at $986,165.12. The trade was a 4.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 42,191 shares of company stock worth $531,951 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Surgery Partners

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in shares of Surgery Partners by 313.1% during the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,227 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 930 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Surgery Partners by 239.6% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,907 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 2,051 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in Surgery Partners by 5,324.0% during 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 during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its holdings in Surgery Partners by 45,640.0% during 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 during the period. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Surgery Partners in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $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.