UBS Group AG Has $120.57 Million Stake in Surgery Partners, Inc. $SGRY

Key Points

• UBS Group AG more than doubled its stake in Surgery Partners in Q4, owning 7,803,974 shares (6.03% of the company) valued at approximately $120.57 million.
• The Board authorized a $200 million share buyback program allowing repurchase of up to 9.7% of outstanding shares, signaling management believes the stock may be undervalued.
• Insiders have materially sold stock recently — a total of 96,896 shares sold over the past 90 days, including CFO David T. Doherty’s sale of 14,574 shares on March 6; insiders now own 2.70% of the company.

UBS Group AG lifted its position in Surgery Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:SGRY - Free Report) by 111.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,803,974 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,113,052 shares during the quarter. UBS Group AG owned 6.03% of Surgery Partners worth $120,571,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in shares of Surgery Partners by 313.1% in the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,227 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 930 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Surgery Partners by 1.6% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 65,091 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,447,000 after purchasing an additional 1,021 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Surgery Partners by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 28,488 shares of the company's stock valued at $440,000 after purchasing an additional 1,218 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Surgery Partners by 11.0% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 12,853 shares of the company's stock valued at $305,000 after purchasing an additional 1,278 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Surgery Partners by 128.4% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,702 shares of the company's stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 1,519 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO David T. Doherty sold 14,574 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.84, for a total transaction of $201,704.16. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 88,803 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,229,033.52. This represents a 14.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Danielle Burkhalter sold 7,736 shares of Surgery Partners stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.60, for a total value of $105,209.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 37,103 shares of the company's stock, valued at $504,600.80. This represents a 17.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 96,896 shares of company stock valued at $1,284,058. 2.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on SGRY. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Surgery Partners in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on Surgery Partners from $31.00 to $20.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating on shares of Surgery Partners in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. US Capital Advisors set a $21.00 target price on Surgery Partners in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on 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. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Surgery Partners currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $22.00.

Surgery Partners Stock Performance

Surgery Partners stock opened at $14.27 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.87 and a quick ratio of 1.71. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $13.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $15.71. Surgery Partners, Inc. has a 52-week low of $11.41 and a 52-week high of $24.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.87 billion, a P/E ratio of -23.02 and a beta of 1.99.

Surgery Partners (NASDAQ:SGRY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 2nd. The company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.31 by ($0.19). Surgery Partners had a positive return on equity of 1.28% and a negative net margin of 2.35%.The company had revenue of $885.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $866.54 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.44 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Surgery Partners, Inc. will post 0.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Surgery Partners declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, February 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $200.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 9.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's management 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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