StockNews.com Begins Coverage on Performant Financial (NASDAQ:PFMT)

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Performant Financial (NASDAQ:PFMT) in a research note issued to investors on Saturday. The firm set a “sell” rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on PFMT. B. Riley decreased their target price on shares of Performant Financial from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Craig Hallum raised Performant Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st.

Performant Financial Price Performance

Performant Financial has a 52-week low of $2.37 and a 52-week high of $4.35. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $3.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3.37. The firm has a market cap of $278.72 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -35.60 and a beta of 0.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 2.67 and a current ratio of 2.67.

Performant Financial (NASDAQ:PFMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The business services provider reported ($0.03) EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $31.52 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.70 million. Performant Financial had a negative return on equity of 10.19% and a negative net margin of 6.74%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.01) EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Performant Financial will post -0.13 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Performant Financial

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Performant Financial by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 2,256,841 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,545,000 after acquiring an additional 37,500 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in shares of Performant Financial by 32.1% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 84,953 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $246,000 after purchasing an additional 20,637 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Performant Financial by 12.9% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 526,277 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,526,000 after purchasing an additional 60,300 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in Performant Financial by 55.6% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 69,440 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $260,000 after purchasing an additional 24,803 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Performant Financial by 18.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 200,208 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $581,000 after buying an additional 31,075 shares during the period. 77.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Performant Financial Company Profile

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.