Pediatrix Medical Group, Inc. (NYSE:MD) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Pediatrix Medical Group, Inc. (NYSE:MD) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,300,000 shares, a drop of 22.8% from the November 30th total of 2,980,000 shares. Currently, 2.7% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 758,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.0 days.

Pediatrix Medical Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MD opened at $13.49 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.42. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $14.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $11.15. Pediatrix Medical Group has a fifty-two week low of $6.62 and a fifty-two week high of $16.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.57.

Pediatrix Medical Group (NYSE:MD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $511.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $498.87 million. Pediatrix Medical Group had a negative net margin of 12.65% and a positive return on equity of 12.79%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.29 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Pediatrix Medical Group will post 1.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Mary Ann E. Moore sold 8,108 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.00, for a total transaction of $129,728.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 135,810 shares in the company, valued at $2,172,960. This represents a 5.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Mark S. Ordan sold 27,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.35, for a total transaction of $423,660.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 138,683 shares in the company, valued at $2,128,784.05. This represents a 16.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MD. Rubric Capital Management LP increased its holdings in Pediatrix Medical Group by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 8,275,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,907,000 after purchasing an additional 125,000 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Pediatrix Medical Group by 1.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,540,791 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,038,000 after buying an additional 50,597 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Pediatrix Medical Group by 2.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,936,751 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,452,000 after buying an additional 45,155 shares during the last quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Pediatrix Medical Group by 80.3% during the 2nd quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,023,136 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,725,000 after buying an additional 455,785 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP grew its holdings in Pediatrix Medical Group by 50.5% during the 3rd quarter. Weiss Asset Management LP now owns 912,818 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,580,000 after acquiring an additional 306,143 shares during the last quarter. 97.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MD shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Pediatrix Medical Group from $9.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Macquarie assumed coverage on Pediatrix Medical Group in a report on Monday, December 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $18.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com lowered Pediatrix Medical Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Pediatrix Medical Group from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Pediatrix Medical Group from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $16.42.

Pediatrix Medical Group Company Profile

Pediatrix Medical Group, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides newborn, maternal-fetal, pediatric cardiology, and other pediatric subspecialty care services in the United States. It offers neonatal care services, such as clinical care to babies born prematurely or with complications within specific units at hospitals through neonatal physician subspecialists, neonatal nurse practitioners, and other pediatric clinicians.