Alpine Associates Management Inc. Raises Holdings in Cross Country Healthcare, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCRN)

Key Points

• Alpine Associates Management Inc. increased its stake in Cross Country Healthcare by 115.6%, owning over 1.25 million shares worth approximately $18.65 million after acquiring an additional 671,492 shares.
• Other institutional investors also made significant adjustments, with Alliancebernstein L.P. boosting its stake by 443.7% during the 4th quarter.
• Cross Country Healthcare recently reported earnings of $0.06 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, but experienced a 22.6% decline in revenue compared to the previous year.

Alpine Associates Management Inc. lifted its stake in Cross Country Healthcare, Inc. (NASDAQ:CCRN - Free Report) by 115.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,252,524 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 671,492 shares during the period. Alpine Associates Management Inc. owned about 3.82% of Cross Country Healthcare worth $18,650,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in Cross Country Healthcare during the 1st quarter worth $952,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Cross Country Healthcare during the 1st quarter worth $5,853,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS grew its position in shares of Cross Country Healthcare by 27.6% during the 1st quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 41,600 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $619,000 after buying an additional 9,000 shares in the last quarter. Tabor Asset Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Cross Country Healthcare during the first quarter valued at $2,980,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Cross Country Healthcare by 2.7% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 31,821 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $474,000 after acquiring an additional 827 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen initiated coverage on shares of Cross Country Healthcare in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Barrington Research reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $18.61 price target on shares of Cross Country Healthcare in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Cross Country Healthcare from $18.61 to $16.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $17.93.

Cross Country Healthcare Stock Down 3.0%

Shares of CCRN traded down $0.41 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $13.04. 293,002 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 240,179. The business has a 50 day moving average of $13.16 and a 200 day moving average of $14.84. The company has a market capitalization of $427.45 million, a PE ratio of -24.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.07 and a beta of 0.35. Cross Country Healthcare, Inc. has a 1-year low of $9.58 and a 1-year high of $18.33.

Cross Country Healthcare (NASDAQ:CCRN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The business services provider reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.04 by $0.02. Cross Country Healthcare had a positive return on equity of 2.56% and a negative net margin of 1.41%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.19 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Cross Country Healthcare, Inc. will post 0.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cross Country Healthcare Profile

Cross Country Healthcare, Inc provides talent management and other consultative services for healthcare clients in the United States. The company's Nurse and Allied Staffing segment provides traditional staffing, recruiting, and value-added total talent solutions, including temporary and permanent placement of travel and local nurse and, allied professionals; temporary placement of healthcare leaders within nursing, allied, physician, and human resources; vendor neutral and managed services programs; education healthcare services; in-home care services; and outsourcing services.