Irenic Capital Management LP Raises Stock Position in Surgery Partners, Inc. $SGRY

Irenic Capital Management LP grew its stake in Surgery Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:SGRY) by 339.7% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,132,203 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 874,704 shares during the period. Surgery Partners makes up about 2.6% of Irenic Capital Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Irenic Capital Management LP’s holdings in Surgery Partners were worth $24,501,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Surgery Partners by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,614,514 shares of the company’s stock worth $164,778,000 after acquiring an additional 424,518 shares in the last quarter. King Street Capital Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Surgery Partners by 24.5% during the second quarter. King Street Capital Management L.P. now owns 6,225,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $138,382,000 after purchasing an additional 1,225,000 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Surgery Partners by 25.5% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,860,215 shares of the company’s stock worth $105,177,000 after purchasing an additional 988,956 shares during the period. UBS Group AG grew its stake in Surgery Partners by 50.6% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 3,690,922 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,872,000 after purchasing an additional 1,239,549 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Surgery Partners by 0.5% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,916,384 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,606,000 after purchasing an additional 9,836 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Activity at Surgery Partners

In other Surgery Partners news, CEO Jason Eric Evans sold 11,462 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.79, for a total transaction of $158,060.98. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 662,680 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,138,357.20. This trade represents a 1.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO David T. Doherty sold 14,574 shares of Surgery Partners stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.84, for a total value of $201,704.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 88,803 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,229,033.52. The trade was a 14.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 54,705 shares of company stock valued at $752,106 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Surgery Partners Stock Performance

Shares of SGRY stock opened at $12.38 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -19.97 and a beta of 1.95. 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 one year low of $12.25 and a one year high of $24.60. The company’s 50-day moving average is $14.95 and its 200 day moving average is $17.72.

Surgery Partners (NASDAQ:SGRY) last issued its earnings results on Monday, March 2nd. The company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.31 by ($0.19). The firm had revenue of $885.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $866.54 million. Surgery Partners had a positive return on equity of 1.28% and a negative net margin of 2.35%.The firm’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. Sell-side analysts expect that Surgery Partners, Inc. will post 0.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Surgery Partners announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 26th that allows the company to repurchase $200.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 9.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on SGRY. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Surgery Partners from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Surgery Partners in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Surgery Partners in a research note on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Surgery Partners in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of 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 given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.