AmSurg Corp. | nashvillepost.com

AmSurg execs sell shares

A trio of senior figures at surgery center chain AmSurg last week joined the insider-selling bandwagon. CFO Claire Gulmi and Chief Development Officer David Manning both exercised batches of options and then sold the shares for profits of $61,000 and $85,000, respectively. Director Steven Geringer, for his part, sold 2,000 of his shares. AmSurg (Ticker: AMSG) are down about 15 percent this year.

Nov 17, 2010 9:41 AM

Analyst action: Dollar General, AmSurg

Saying that "changes in guidance are not alarming to us, and are mainly due to changes in timing of acquisitions rather than a shift in market dynamics," Avondale Partners analyst Brian Williams on Friday reiterated his 'market perform' rating and $20 price target on shares of AmSurg. He also tweaked downward his earnings estimates in the surgery center chain (Ticker: AMSG) and said any real upturn can only come with a better economy that doesn't force people to put off procedures. Barclays analysts have hiked their EPS forecast for Dollar General (Ticker: DG) based on their view of the discount retailer's operations. They see Goodlettsville-based Dollar General growing earnings by 24 percent in 2011, which puts them 6 percent above the Street's consensus.

Oct 25, 2010 7:42 AM

Earnings wrap: Healthways, AmSurg

Healthways worries about 2011 revenue slide, AmSurg lowers guidance on still-soft volumes

Oct 21, 2010 5:24 PM

Look for better AmSurg volumes

Avondale Partners analyst Brian Williams says patient traffic at surgery center chain AmSurg is slowly mending, but investors will likely have to wait another quarter to see decent growth.

While 3Q volumes appear to be returning to a flat run rate, management is still uncertain when growth will return to historical levels. Some procedures may also be delayed to 4Q10 as individuals meet deductible levels.

Williams, who has a 'market perform' rating on AmSurg, expects the company (Ticker: AMSG) to report this afternoon a Q3 profit of 43 cents per diluted share, a penny more than the consensus.

Oct 21, 2010 11:44 AM

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AmSurg board member resigns

Debora Guthrie has resigned from AmSurg Corp.’s board of directors. The ambulatory surgery center company announced Guthrie’s resignation in a regulatory filing yesterday. Following her departure from the board, an affiliate of Guthrie's company, Capitol Health, will serve as a consultant to AmSurg.

Oct 1, 2010 7:01 AM

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Analyst action: First Horizon, AmSurg

The analyst team at Zacks remains neutral on AmSurg, the Nashville-based surgery center chain that has been wrestling with the weak economy's effect on patient volumes. At Stifel Nicolaus, analyst Tony Davis has raised his rating on the shares of First Horizon (Ticker: FHN) from 'hold' to 'buy.' Davis, who last month said he sees acquisitions in the future of Tennessee's largest bank by deposits, sees the stock rising to $15 from its current $10 level.

Aug 24, 2010 10:13 AM

Analyst Action: AmSurg

AmSurg's lackluster second quarter performance yesterday cultivated some pessimism among analysts — garnering a pair of downgrades. Jefferies & Co. analyst Arthur Henderson ratcheted down his rating on the ambulatory surgery center's shares from 'buy' to 'hold,' figuring that the "lack of near term catalysts, ongoing volume weakness and Medicare pricing pressure is going to leave the stock range-bound for the foreseeable future." He dropped the stock's price target by $5 to $20. At Avondale Partners, analyst Brian Williams has lowered his price target on AmSurg to $20 from $22. The reasoning's pretty simple: "Volumes will continue to reflect the economic landscape." For 2011, Williams sees EPS growth of 6 percent driven by acquisitions and the positive effects of health reform, which will eliminate co-pays on some procedures. A more positive view — albeit also with a target cut — comes from Citi analyst Gary Taylor, who has reiterated his 'buy' rating citing strong cost controls and saying investors should be soothed by the company's guidance. As of 12:37 p.m., shares of AmSurg (Ticker: AMSG) were up 3.6 percent to $18.54. Year to date, they're down about 16 percent.

Jul 23, 2010 1:39 PM