Performant Financial (NASDAQ:PFMT) Lowered to “Sell” at StockNews.com

Performant Financial (NASDAQ:PFMT) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued on Thursday.

Performant Financial Price Performance

PFMT stock traded up $0.04 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $3.13. The stock had a trading volume of 270,961 shares, compared to its average volume of 220,323. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $2.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $2.78. The company has a current ratio of 3.21, a quick ratio of 3.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The company has a market cap of $240.76 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -31.30 and a beta of 0.11. Performant Financial has a 52-week low of $2.00 and a 52-week high of $3.61.

Performant Financial (NASDAQ:PFMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 12th. The business services provider reported $0.02 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $32.57 million for the quarter. Performant Financial had a negative return on equity of 9.46% and a negative net margin of 6.61%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Light Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Performant Financial by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. First Light Asset Management LLC now owns 9,670,110 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $30,219,000 after acquiring an additional 291,814 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Performant Financial by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 2,219,341 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,525,000 after acquiring an additional 74,954 shares during the period. Mirador Capital Partners LP raised its holdings in shares of Performant Financial by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 1,995,795 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,868,000 after acquiring an additional 76,933 shares during the period. Parkman Healthcare Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Performant Financial by 21.7% during the 4th quarter. Parkman Healthcare Partners LLC now owns 1,580,865 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,940,000 after acquiring an additional 281,480 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Performant Financial by 22.4% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,046,100 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,269,000 after acquiring an additional 191,100 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.15% of the company’s stock.

About Performant Financial

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.