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Pediatrix Medical Stock Soars 30.5% Since Q3 Earnings Beat

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Pediatrix Medical Group, Inc. (MD - Free Report) shares have jumped 30.5% since it reported strong third-quarter results on Nov. 1, 2024. The company benefited from growth in same-unit revenues and improved hospital contract administrative fees. However, the upside was partly offset by an increased expense level.

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MD reported third-quarter 2024 adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of 44 cents, which outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 18.9%. Also, the bottom line jumped 37.5% year over year.

Net revenues inched up 0.9% year over year to $511.2 million. The top line beat the consensus mark by 2.2%.

Q3 Update for MD

Overall, same-unit revenues increased 5.2% year over year, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 1.65%. Same-unit revenues, attributable to patient volume, grew 1.8% year over year.

Same-unit revenues from net reimbursement-related factors inched up 3.4%, attributable to modest growth in hospital contract administrative fees and improved payor mix. It beat the Zacks Conesus Estimate of 0.95%.

Net patient service revenue of $438.7 million grew 0.3% year over year and beat the consensus mark by 0.9%. Hospital contract administrative fees of $72.4 million grew 5.4% from a year ago and beat the estimates by 0.2%.

Pediatrix Medical’s total operating costs of $477.3 million increased 2.4% year over year. The rise was due to higher G&A expenses and the incurrence of transformational and restructuring-related expenses in the third quarter.

Practice salaries and benefits decreased 1% on a year-over-year basis. This is mainly due to declining same-unit medical malpractice expenses and the impact of practice dispositions, partially offset by growth in same-unit clinical compensation costs. Interest expenses of $10.1 million decreased 2.4% year over year.

Pediatrix Medical’s net income of $19.4 million declined from $21.4 million in the year-ago period.

Adjusted EBITDA jumped 19.5% year over year to $60.2 million.

MD’s Financial Update (as of Sept. 30, 2024)

Pediatrix Medical exited the third quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $103.8 million compared with $73.3 million at 2023-end. There were no outstanding borrowingson its revolving credit facility at the quarter-end.

Total assets of $2.08 billion slipped from the $2.22 billion figure at 2023-end.

Total debt, including finance leases, net, amounted to $626.7 million, which declined from the $633.3 million figure as of Dec. 31, 2023.

Total shareholders’ equity of $732.5 million declined from the 2023-end level of $849.1 million.

Operating cash flow was $95.7 million, up from $81.1 million in the prior-year quarter.

Share Repurchase Update for MD

Pediatrix Medical bought back a nominal number of its common shares for $1.1 million in the first nine months of 2024. It had a leftover capacity of $3.5 million under its $500 million repurchase program (approved in August 2018) as of Sept. 30, 2024.

MD’s 2024 View Revised

Management forecasts adjusted EBITDA between $205 million and $215 million for 2024. The mid-point of the annual guidance indicates a 4.8% improvement from the 2023 reported figure. Net loss is estimated to be between $110.32 million and $103.02 million.

Interest expense is estimated at $40.6 million, indicating a 3.6% decline from the 2023 figure. Income tax expense is forecasted to be in the range of $1.99-$4.69 million.

Depreciation and amortization expenses are estimated to be $31.8 million. Transformational and restructuring-related expenses are expected at $48 million.

Zacks Rank & Other Key Picks

Pediatrix Medical currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Some other top-ranked and promising stocks in the broader Medical sector are Tenet Healthcare Corporation (THC - Free Report) , CareDx, Inc (CDNA - Free Report) and Encompass Health Corporation (EHC - Free Report) . While Tenet Healthcare currently sports a Zacks Rank #1, CareDx and Encompass Health carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) each. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Tenet Healthcare’s 2024 bottom line suggests 63.2% year-over-year growth. THC has witnessed four upward estimate revisions over the past 30 days against no movement in the opposite direction. It beat earnings estimates in all the last four quarters, with an average surprise of 59.9%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CareDx’s current-year earnings indicates a 143.8% year-over-year improvement. CDNA beat earnings estimates in each of the past four quarters, with an average surprise of 135.2%. The consensus mark for revenues suggests 16.8% growth from the year-ago period.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Encompass Health’s 2024 full-year earnings implies a 17.3% increase from the year-ago reported figure. EHC beat earnings estimates in each of the last four quarters, with an average surprise of 13.6%. The consensus mark for its current-year revenues is pegged at $5.34 billion, which indicates an 11.3% year-over-year increase.

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