Farallon Capital Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in Surgery Partners, Inc. $SGRY

Farallon Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Surgery Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:SGRY) by 54.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 871,830 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,054,170 shares during the quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC owned 0.67% of Surgery Partners worth $18,866,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in Surgery Partners by 313.1% during the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,227 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 930 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in Surgery Partners by 128.4% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 1,519 shares in the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Surgery Partners in the third quarter valued at approximately $121,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new stake in shares of Surgery Partners during the third quarter valued at approximately $151,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in shares of Surgery Partners by 68.7% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 9,313 shares of the company’s stock valued at $207,000 after purchasing an additional 3,794 shares during the period.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Jennifer Baldock sold 10,082 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.70, for a total transaction of $138,123.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 332,272 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,552,126.40. This represents a 2.94% 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, CEO Jason Eric Evans sold 11,462 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.79, for a total value of $158,060.98. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 662,680 shares in the company, valued at $9,138,357.20. The trade was a 1.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 54,705 shares of company stock valued at $752,106 over the last 90 days. 2.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Surgery Partners Trading Down 2.8%

Surgery Partners stock opened at $12.38 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $14.95 and its 200-day moving average is $17.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 1.87. Surgery Partners, Inc. has a 1 year low of $12.25 and a 1 year high of $24.60. The company has a market cap of $1.60 billion, a P/E ratio of -19.97 and a beta of 1.95.

Surgery Partners (NASDAQ:SGRY) last posted its quarterly 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). The business had revenue of $885.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $866.54 million. Surgery Partners had a negative net margin of 2.35% and a positive return on equity of 1.28%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.44 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Surgery Partners, Inc. will post 0.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Surgery Partners declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, February 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $200.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 9.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on SGRY. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Surgery Partners in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Surgery Partners in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Surgery Partners in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Surgery Partners in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on Surgery Partners from $18.00 to $14.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.36.

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.