199,876 Shares in Surgery Partners, Inc. $SGRY Purchased by Clearline Capital LP

Key Points

• Clearline Capital LP opened a new position in Surgery Partners, buying 199,876 shares worth about $3.09 million in the fourth quarter.
• Analysts have become more cautious on the stock, with Barclays and RBC cutting price targets, though the overall consensus remains a Moderate Buy with an average target of $22.18.
• Surgery Partners recently beat quarterly EPS and revenue estimates, and its board approved a $200 million share buyback plan, signaling confidence in the business.

Clearline Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Surgery Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:SGRY - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 199,876 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,088,000. Clearline Capital LP owned approximately 0.15% of Surgery Partners as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State of Wisconsin Investment Board lifted its holdings in Surgery Partners by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. State of Wisconsin Investment Board now owns 151,504 shares of the company's stock worth $2,341,000 after purchasing an additional 668 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Surgery Partners by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 14,135 shares of the company's stock worth $218,000 after purchasing an additional 909 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in Surgery Partners by 313.1% during the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,227 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 930 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in Surgery Partners by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 65,091 shares of the company's stock worth $1,447,000 after purchasing an additional 1,021 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Surgery Partners by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 28,488 shares of the company's stock worth $440,000 after purchasing an additional 1,218 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on SGRY shares. Barclays dropped their price objective 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. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on Surgery Partners from $31.00 to $20.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Surgery Partners in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. US Capital Advisors set a $21.00 price target on Surgery Partners in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Surgery Partners in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $22.18.

Surgery Partners Price Performance

SGRY opened at $14.23 on Thursday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $13.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $14.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.86 and a quick ratio of 1.69. Surgery Partners, Inc. has a 1 year low of $11.41 and a 1 year high of $24.10. The firm has a market cap of $1.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -23.72, a PEG ratio of 4.53 and a beta of 1.96.

Surgery Partners (NASDAQ:SGRY - Get Free Report) last posted 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 positive return on equity of 1.04% and a negative net margin of 2.28%.The business had revenue of $810.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $797.69 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.04 EPS. Surgery Partners's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Surgery Partners, Inc. will post 0.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Surgery Partners declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, February 26th that permits the company to repurchase $200.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 9.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.

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