Benchmark Reiterates “Buy” Rating for Surgery Partners (NASDAQ:SGRY)

Surgery Partners (NASDAQ:SGRY)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by equities researchers at Benchmark in a research note issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Benchmark’s price target indicates a potential upside of 103.83% from the company’s current price.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on SGRY. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Surgery Partners from $43.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. StockNews.com upgraded Surgery Partners from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Barclays began coverage on Surgery Partners in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $35.00 price target on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $43.00 price objective on shares of Surgery Partners in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $49.00 target price on shares of Surgery Partners in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.63.

Surgery Partners Stock Performance

Shares of SGRY traded down $0.47 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $24.53. 887,364 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 887,843. Surgery Partners has a twelve month low of $22.05 and a twelve month high of $45.79. The company has a market cap of $3.12 billion, a P/E ratio of -245.30, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 2.75. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Surgery Partners (NASDAQ:SGRY) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 26th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $735.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $741.93 million. Surgery Partners had a negative net margin of 0.43% and a positive return on equity of 3.65%. The business’s revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.22 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Surgery Partners will post 0.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Jason Eric Evans sold 4,840 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.71, for a total transaction of $143,796.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 459,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,656,795.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Bradley R. Owens sold 1,040 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,576,307.78. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jason Eric Evans sold 4,840 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.71, for a total transaction of $143,796.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 459,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,656,795.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,831 shares of company stock valued at $482,609 in the last ninety days. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Surgery Partners

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Surgery Partners by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,318,176 shares of the company’s stock valued at $266,098,000 after purchasing an additional 295,476 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Surgery Partners by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,417,609 shares of the company’s stock worth $237,289,000 after buying an additional 698,845 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Surgery Partners by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 5,525,671 shares of the company’s stock worth $176,766,000 after buying an additional 247,762 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Surgery Partners by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,604,357 shares of the company’s stock valued at $105,427,000 after acquiring an additional 305,216 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Surgery Partners by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,840,212 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,870,000 after acquiring an additional 149,146 shares in the last quarter.

Surgery Partners Company Profile

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.