Craig Hallum Upgrades Performant Financial (NASDAQ:PFMT) to Strong-Buy

Craig Hallum upgraded shares of Performant Financial (NASDAQ:PFMT) to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Tuesday, Zacks.com reports.

Separately, B. Riley started coverage on shares of Performant Financial in a report on Thursday, July 25th. They issued a buy rating and a $8.00 target price on the stock.

Performant Financial Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of PFMT opened at $3.48 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 2.65 and a quick ratio of 2.65. The firm has a market cap of $268.62 million, a P/E ratio of -38.66 and a beta of 0.13. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $3.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3.13. Performant Financial has a 1 year low of $2.00 and a 1 year high of $4.04.

Performant Financial (NASDAQ:PFMT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The business services provider reported ($0.04) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.05) by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $29.36 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.20 million. Performant Financial had a negative net margin of 5.32% and a negative return on equity of 8.11%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.05) EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Performant Financial will post -0.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Performant Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. First Light Asset Management LLC grew its position in Performant Financial by 8.7% during the 1st quarter. First Light Asset Management LLC now owns 10,515,127 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $30,914,000 after purchasing an additional 845,017 shares during the last quarter. Parkman Healthcare Partners LLC lifted its stake in Performant Financial by 21.7% during the fourth quarter. Parkman Healthcare Partners LLC now owns 1,580,865 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,940,000 after purchasing an additional 281,480 shares in the last quarter. HighMark Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Performant Financial by 61.6% in the 1st quarter. HighMark Wealth Management LLC now owns 725,550 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,133,000 after purchasing an additional 276,500 shares during the last quarter. Kent Lake Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Performant Financial in the first quarter valued at $588,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Performant Financial by 22.4% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,046,100 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,269,000 after purchasing an additional 191,100 shares in the last quarter. 77.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.