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

Analysts at StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Performant Financial (NASDAQ:PFMT) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Sunday. The brokerage set a “sell” rating on the business services provider’s stock.

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

Performant Financial Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 2.67, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $3.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3.37. Performant Financial has a 1-year low of $2.37 and a 1-year high of $4.35. The company has a market cap of $278.72 million, a P/E ratio of -35.60 and a beta of 0.09.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Performant Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Performant Financial by 18.4% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 200,208 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $581,000 after purchasing an additional 31,075 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in Performant Financial by 32.1% in the 2nd 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 lifted its holdings in Performant Financial by 12.9% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 526,277 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,526,000 after buying an additional 60,300 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Performant Financial by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 2,256,841 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,545,000 after buying an additional 37,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Performant Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $91,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.15% of the company’s stock.

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.