Community Health Systems (NYSE:CYH) Stock Dropped to "Strong Sell" by Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research downgraded Community Health Systems to “strong sell” from “hold.” Analysts overall rate the stock “Reduce,” with a consensus price target of $2.59.
• The company reported a quarterly loss of $0.48 per share, missing analyst expectations of a $0.29 loss; revenue of $2.76 billion also fell short of estimates and declined 10.7% year over year.
• CYH opened at $2.04, its 52-week low, compared with a 52-week high of $3.92.

Community Health Systems (NYSE:CYH - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a note issued to investors on Monday, Zacks reports.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Community Health Systems in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. They set a "market perform" rating and a $3.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Community Health Systems from $5.00 to $4.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Community Health Systems from $3.00 to $2.50 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings downgraded Community Health Systems from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Community Health Systems from $2.00 to $1.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $2.59.

Community Health Systems Stock Performance

Community Health Systems stock opened at $2.04 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $2.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $3.03. The company has a market capitalization of $288.41 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.87 and a beta of 1.90. Community Health Systems has a fifty-two week low of $2.04 and a fifty-two week high of $3.92.

Community Health Systems (NYSE:CYH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The company reported ($0.48) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.29) by ($0.19). The company had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.80 billion. Community Health Systems had a net margin of 0.31% and a negative return on equity of 6.66%. The firm's revenue was down 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.27 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Community Health Systems will post -1.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Community Health Systems

In other news, Director William Jennings sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.96, for a total transaction of $118,400.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 38,468 shares in the company, valued at $113,865.28. This represents a 50.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 11.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Community Health Systems

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CYH. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Community Health Systems during the second quarter valued at about $36,508,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Community Health Systems in the 2nd quarter worth about $5,904,000. Owl Creek Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Community Health Systems by 65.4% in the 1st quarter. Owl Creek Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,530,622 shares of the company's stock worth $7,440,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000,862 shares during the period. Carronade Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Community Health Systems by 306.7% in the 1st quarter. Carronade Capital Management LP now owns 1,321,923 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,886,000 after purchasing an additional 996,923 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whitebox Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Community Health Systems by 42.1% in the 1st quarter. Whitebox Advisors LLC now owns 3,127,884 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,196,000 after purchasing an additional 926,364 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.99% of the company's stock.

Community Health Systems Company Profile

Community Health Systems, Inc NYSE: CYH is a healthcare services company that owns, leases, and operates general acute-care hospitals and related healthcare facilities in the United States. The company focuses primarily on serving communities in small cities and non-urban markets, providing access to hospital-based and outpatient care.

Its services generally include emergency care, inpatient and outpatient treatment, surgery, diagnostic imaging, laboratory services, rehabilitation, and other clinical programs.

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