Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 3,997 Shares of Surgery Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:SGRY)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Surgery Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:SGRY) by 8.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 49,549 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,997 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Surgery Partners were worth $1,049,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Surgery Partners by 31.8% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,385 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 576 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. boosted its position in Surgery Partners by 747.6% during the third quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 3,831 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,000 after purchasing an additional 3,379 shares in the last quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Surgery Partners by 16.6% in the fourth quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $218,000 after purchasing an additional 1,460 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in Surgery Partners in the fourth quarter worth about $245,000. Finally, Creative Planning purchased a new stake in shares of Surgery Partners during the third quarter valued at about $258,000.

Surgery Partners Price Performance

NASDAQ SGRY opened at $23.97 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $23.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $26.36. Surgery Partners, Inc. has a 1 year low of $19.50 and a 1 year high of $33.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.80 and a quick ratio of 1.66. The company has a market cap of $3.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -49.94, a PEG ratio of 19.21 and a beta of 2.60.

Surgery Partners (NASDAQ:SGRY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 3rd. The company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.01. Surgery Partners had a positive return on equity of 2.85% and a negative net margin of 2.03%. The business had revenue of $864.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $828.09 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Surgery Partners, Inc. will post 0.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Surgery Partners news, CFO David T. Doherty sold 13,641 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.61, for a total transaction of $349,346.01. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 108,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,787,955.82. This trade represents a 11.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Jason Eric Evans sold 26,520 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.65, for a total value of $680,238.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 560,698 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,381,903.70. This trade represents a 4.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 96,733 shares of company stock valued at $2,480,106. 2.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on SGRY shares. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Surgery Partners in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $30.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Surgery Partners from $38.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Surgery Partners from $49.00 to $35.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Macquarie restated an “outperform” rating and set a $34.00 target price on shares of Surgery Partners in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $36.56.

Surgery Partners Profile

Surgery Partners, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, owns and operates a network of surgical facilities and ancillary services in the United States. The company provides ambulatory surgery centers and surgical hospitals that offer non-emergency surgical procedures in various specialties, including orthopedics and pain management, ophthalmology, gastroenterology, and general surgery.