Cantor Fitzgerald Reaffirms "Overweight" Rating for Surgery Partners (NASDAQ:SGRY)

Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed their overweight rating on shares of Surgery Partners (NASDAQ:SGRY - Free Report) in a report released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $43.00 price objective on the stock.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on SGRY. Barclays began coverage on shares of Surgery Partners in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an equal weight rating and a $35.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an outperform rating and issued a $49.00 price target on shares of Surgery Partners in a report on Thursday, February 29th. StockNews.com raised shares of Surgery Partners from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Surgery Partners from $43.00 to $42.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $43.63.

Surgery Partners Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SGRY traded down $1.33 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $26.26. The company's stock had a trading volume of 750,764 shares, compared to its average volume of 897,214. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $30.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.05. Surgery Partners has a one year low of $22.05 and a one year high of $45.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -262.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 2.71.

Surgery Partners (NASDAQ:SGRY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 26th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.07. Surgery Partners had a negative net margin of 0.43% and a positive return on equity of 3.65%. The company had revenue of $735.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $741.93 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.22 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Surgery Partners will post 0.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Surgery Partners

In other news, insider Bradley R. Owens sold 1,040 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.22, for a total value of $36,628.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 73,149 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,576,307.78. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Marissa Brittenham sold 1,637 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.89, for a total transaction of $52,203.93. Following the sale, the insider now owns 30,469 shares of the company's stock, valued at $971,656.41. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Bradley R. Owens sold 1,040 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.22, for a total transaction of $36,628.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 73,149 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,576,307.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 18,774 shares of company stock valued at $608,352. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in Surgery Partners by 34.7% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,195 shares of the company's stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares during the period. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Surgery Partners by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,388 shares of the company's stock worth $108,000 after acquiring an additional 373 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its stake in Surgery Partners by 35.6% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 1,709 shares of the company's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 449 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Surgery Partners in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY lifted its stake in Surgery Partners by 25.9% in the fourth quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY now owns 3,025 shares of the company's stock worth $84,000 after acquiring an additional 622 shares during the period.

About Surgery Partners

Surgery Partners, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, owns and operates a network of surgical facilities and ancillary services in the United States. The company provides ambulatory surgery centers and surgical hospitals that offer non-emergency surgical procedures in various specialties, including orthopedics and pain management, ophthalmology, gastroenterology, and general surgery.