Surgery Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:SGRY) Short Interest Down 15.7% in February

Surgery Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:SGRY) was the target of a large decline in short interest in February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 13,812,095 shares, a decline of 15.7% from the February 12th total of 16,386,395 shares. Currently, 11.0% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,331,779 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 10.4 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,331,779 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 10.4 days. Currently, 11.0% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Danielle Burkhalter sold 3,469 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.83, for a total value of $44,507.27. Following the transaction, the insider owned 76,864 shares in the company, valued at approximately $986,165.12. This represents a 4.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Marissa Brittenham sold 3,657 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the insider directly owned 94,196 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,181,217.84. The trade was a 3.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 96,896 shares of company stock worth $1,284,058 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Surgery Partners

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SGRY. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in shares of Surgery Partners by 104.2% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,931,577 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,151,000 after purchasing an additional 985,748 shares during the period. Alpine Global Management LLC acquired a new stake in Surgery Partners during the fourth quarter worth $175,000. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in Surgery Partners by 1,340.9% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 161,419 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,494,000 after buying an additional 150,216 shares during the period. One68 Global Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Surgery Partners in the 4th quarter valued at $371,000. Finally, Man Group plc bought a new position in shares of Surgery Partners during the 4th quarter worth about $5,080,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on SGRY shares. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Surgery Partners in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Surgery Partners in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. US Capital Advisors set a $21.00 target price on Surgery Partners in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Surgery Partners from $27.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price target on Surgery Partners from $28.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.36.

Surgery Partners Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of Surgery Partners stock opened at $12.65 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $14.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.57. The company has a market cap of $1.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -20.40 and a beta of 1.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Surgery Partners has a 1 year low of $12.25 and a 1 year high of $24.60.

Surgery Partners (NASDAQ:SGRY) last released its earnings results on Monday, March 2nd. The company reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.31 by ($0.19). Surgery Partners had a negative net margin of 2.35% and a positive return on equity of 1.28%. 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 previous year, the company earned $0.44 earnings per share. Surgery Partners’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Surgery Partners will post 0.67 EPS for the current year.

Surgery Partners announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, February 26th that permits the company to buyback $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 9.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership 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.