Surgery Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:SGRY) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts give Surgery Partners a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from 12 firms (8 buy, 2 hold, 2 sell) with an average 12‑month price target of $22, versus the stock trading around $14.54.
• The company missed EPS estimates (reported $0.12 vs. $0.31 expected) while beating revenue ($885M), and its board authorized a $200 million share repurchase program (about 9.7% of shares outstanding).
• Insiders sold 96,896 shares (~$1.28M) last quarter, including CEO sales, even as institutional investors such as Pentwater, UBS and Goldman materially increased their stakes.

Surgery Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:SGRY - Get Free Report) has received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twelve research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $22.00.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on SGRY. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Surgery Partners in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Surgery Partners in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (e+)" rating on shares of Surgery Partners in a report on Monday, December 29th. Barclays lowered 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 report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, US Capital Advisors set a $21.00 target price on shares of Surgery Partners in a report on Wednesday, March 11th.

Insider Transactions at Surgery Partners

In related news, CEO Jason Eric Evans sold 20,400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.47, for a total value of $254,388.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 920,386 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,477,213.42. The trade was a 2.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Marissa Brittenham sold 3,657 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.54, for a total transaction of $45,858.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 94,196 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,181,217.84. The trade was a 3.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 96,896 shares of company stock valued at $1,284,058 in the last quarter. Insiders own 2.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Surgery Partners

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SGRY. Pentwater Capital Management LP grew its holdings in Surgery Partners by 66.9% in the third quarter. Pentwater Capital Management LP now owns 11,681,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $252,777,000 after purchasing an additional 4,681,000 shares during the period. UBS Group AG grew its holdings in Surgery Partners by 111.4% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 7,803,974 shares of the company's stock valued at $120,571,000 after purchasing an additional 4,113,052 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in Surgery Partners by 528.2% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,959,686 shares of the company's stock worth $30,277,000 after buying an additional 1,647,714 shares during the period. Glenview Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Surgery Partners during the second quarter worth approximately $33,995,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Surgery Partners by 25.5% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,860,215 shares of the company's stock worth $105,177,000 after buying an additional 988,956 shares during the period.

Surgery Partners Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SGRY opened at $14.54 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $1.90 billion, a PE ratio of -23.45 and a beta of 1.99. Surgery Partners has a 12 month low of $11.41 and a 12 month high of $24.18. 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.78.

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

Surgery Partners announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.

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