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

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

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Craig Hallum raised shares of Performant Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. B. Riley decreased their target price on Performant Financial from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 7th.

Performant Financial Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $278.72 million, a PE ratio of -35.60 and a beta of 0.09. Performant Financial has a 1-year low of $2.37 and a 1-year high of $4.35. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $3.49 and its 200-day moving average is $3.37. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The business services provider reported ($0.03) earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.03). The business had revenue of $31.52 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.70 million. Performant Financial had a negative net margin of 6.74% and a negative return on equity of 10.19%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.01) EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Performant Financial will post -0.13 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 31,075 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in shares of Performant Financial by 32.1% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 84,953 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $246,000 after purchasing an additional 20,637 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Performant Financial by 1.7% in the second 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 purchasing an additional 37,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Performant Financial during the third quarter worth about $91,000. Institutional investors 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.