Pediatrix Medical Group (NYSE:MD) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Jefferies Financial Group

Pediatrix Medical Group (NYSE:MD) was upgraded by research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on MD. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Pediatrix Medical Group in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research lowered Pediatrix Medical Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Pediatrix Medical Group from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Pediatrix Medical Group from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $19.00 target price on Pediatrix Medical Group in a research note on Friday, February 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $19.80.

Pediatrix Medical Group Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of MD opened at $19.42 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $20.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66. Pediatrix Medical Group has a 1 year low of $11.84 and a 1 year high of $24.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.61 billion, a PE ratio of 10.01 and a beta of 0.79.

Pediatrix Medical Group (NYSE:MD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.03). Pediatrix Medical Group had a net margin of 8.64% and a return on equity of 19.59%. The business had revenue of $493.77 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $486.23 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.51 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Pediatrix Medical Group will post 1.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Pediatrix Medical Group news, CEO Mark S. Ordan sold 23,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.41, for a total transaction of $515,430.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 302,805 shares in the company, valued at $6,785,860.05. The trade was a 7.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pediatrix Medical Group

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Pediatrix Medical Group by 30.7% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,126,207 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,114,000 after buying an additional 968,553 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Pediatrix Medical Group by 38.9% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,682,976 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,940,000 after buying an additional 751,109 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in Pediatrix Medical Group during the 4th quarter worth about $13,613,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Pediatrix Medical Group by 175.4% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 744,473 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,683,000 after acquiring an additional 474,186 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in shares of Pediatrix Medical Group by 669.4% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 476,098 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,832,000 after acquiring an additional 414,216 shares in the last quarter. 97.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Pediatrix Medical Group

Pediatrix Medical Group, Inc (NYSE:MD) is a national physician-led medical group specializing in high-acuity newborn, maternal-fetal and pediatric subspecialty care. Headquartered in Sunrise, Florida, the company delivers clinical services through hospital-based physician staffing, advanced practitioner support and telemedicine programs. Its core specialties include neonatology, maternal-fetal medicine, pediatric cardiology, pediatric critical care, pediatric emergency medicine and anesthesiology.

Founded in 1979 and formerly known as MEDNAX, the company rebranded as Pediatrix Medical Group in 2022 to align its corporate identity with its primary clinical offerings.