Ardent Health (NYSE:ARDT) Hits New 1-Year Low - Here's Why

Key Points

• Ardent Health's stock hit a new 52-week low, trading down to $10.46 and closing at $10.66, amidst a volume of 168,630 shares.
• Several brokerages have adjusted their ratings and price targets for Ardent Health, with some downgrading from "strong-buy" to "buy" and others maintaining higher price targets around $21.00.
• Ardent Health reported earnings of $0.29 per share for the last quarter, outperforming the consensus estimate, and has a market capitalization of $1.51 billion with a P/E ratio of 6.49.

Ardent Health, Inc. (NYSE:ARDT - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $10.46 and last traded at $10.66, with a volume of 168630 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $10.68.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Ardent Health from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $21.00 price objective on shares of Ardent Health in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Ardent Health from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $15.50 to $14.60 in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ardent Health from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 12th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Ardent Health from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $20.30.

Ardent Health Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.12, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.47 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.31. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $13.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $13.58.

Ardent Health (NYSE:ARDT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.08. Ardent Health had a net margin of 3.73% and a return on equity of 16.07%. The business had revenue of $1.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.50 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Ardent Health, Inc. will post 1.23 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ardent Health

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ARDT. Prudential Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ardent Health in the 4th quarter worth about $481,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Ardent Health by 66.8% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 13,992 shares of the company's stock worth $239,000 after buying an additional 5,602 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Ardent Health in the 4th quarter worth about $1,548,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ardent Health by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 917,926 shares of the company's stock worth $15,678,000 after buying an additional 78,575 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ardent Health by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 142,563 shares of the company's stock worth $2,435,000 after buying an additional 2,127 shares in the last quarter.

About Ardent Health

Ardent Health Partners, Inc owns and operates a network of hospitals and clinics that provides a range of healthcare services in the United States. It operates acute care hospitals, including rehabilitation hospitals and surgical hospitals. The company was founded in 2001 and is based in Brentwood, Tennessee.