What happened After the company reported fourth-quarter earnings, shares of HMS Holdings (NASDAQ: HMSY), which is focused on lowering healthcare costs in the U.S., dropped about 12% on Friday. So what Here's a look at the headline numbers from HMS Holdings' fourth quarter that caused traders to flee: Revenue grew 5% to $163.4 million, well below the consensus estimate of $170.8 million. GAAP net income dropped 47% to $17.3 million, or $0.20 per share. Adjusted EPS was $0.27, which was below the $0.31 in EPS that Wall Street was expecting. Cash balance at quarter-end was $139 million. Debt was $240 million. HMS also spent $159 million to acquire a company called Accent during the quarter. Accent is focused on payment accuracy and cost containment. Image source: Getty Images. Shifting to guidance, here's what management expects to happen in 2020: Adjusted revenue is forecast to land between $705 million and $715 million, which is projected growth of about 15% at the midpoint. That's above the consensus estimate on Wall Street of $701.6 million. Adjusted net income is expected to land between $76 million and $80 million, growth of about 13% at the midpoint. Traders appear to be squarely focused on the weak quarterly results and are knocking down the share price in response. Now what HMS has been a steady performer for investors for the last few years, and market watchers expect profits to grow about 15% annually over the next five years. With shares currently trading for about 19 times next year's earnings estimates, there's an argument to be made that HMS is a value stock that is worth a closer look right now. 10 stocks we like better than HMS HoldingsWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.* David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the ten best stocks for investors to buy right now... and HMS Holdings wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys. See the 10 stocks *Stock Advisor returns as of December 1, 2019 Brian Feroldi has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.Source