Performant Financial (NASDAQ:PFMT) Earns Buy Rating from Analysts at B. Riley

B. Riley assumed coverage on shares of Performant Financial (NASDAQ:PFMT) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $8.00 target price on the business services provider’s stock.

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Performant Financial from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th.

Performant Financial Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of PFMT stock opened at $3.58 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $2.94 and a 200-day moving average of $2.87. The company has a current ratio of 2.75, a quick ratio of 2.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock has a market cap of $275.48 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -39.77 and a beta of 0.17. Performant Financial has a 1-year low of $2.00 and a 1-year high of $3.62.

Performant Financial (NASDAQ:PFMT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The business services provider reported ($0.05) earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $27.33 million for the quarter. Performant Financial had a negative net margin of 6.34% and a negative return on equity of 9.30%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Performant Financial will post -0.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Performant Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFMT. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Performant Financial by 38.0% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 20,866 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 5,742 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in Performant Financial by 170.0% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 50,358 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $148,000 after purchasing an additional 31,710 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Performant Financial by 18.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 200,208 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $581,000 after purchasing an additional 31,075 shares in the last quarter. Kent Lake Capital LLC acquired a new position in Performant Financial during the first quarter worth $588,000. Finally, White Pine Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Performant Financial by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. White Pine Capital LLC now owns 225,330 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $704,000 after buying an additional 13,221 shares in the last quarter. 77.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Performant Financial

Performant Financial Corporation provides technology-enabled audit, recovery, and analytics services in the United States. The company identifies improper payments resulting from incorrect coding, procedures that were not medically necessary, incomplete documentation or claims submitted based on outdated fee schedules, and coverage discrepancies; and provides first party call center and other outsourced services.