Ardent Health (NYSE:ARDT) Shares Gap Up Following Strong Earnings

Key Points

• Ardent Health's stock price gapped up to $11.79 after reporting quarterly earnings of $0.52 per share, exceeding the expected $0.30 per share.
• The company reported a revenue of $1.65 billion, outperforming the consensus estimate of $1.54 billion.
• Analysts maintain a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $20.30 for Ardent Health's stock.

Ardent Health, Inc. (NYSE:ARDT - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $10.65, but opened at $11.79. Ardent Health shares last traded at $11.56, with a volume of 170,512 shares changing hands.

The company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.54 billion. Ardent Health had a net margin of 4.11% and a return on equity of 16.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on ARDT shares. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $21.00 price objective on shares of Ardent Health in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Ardent Health from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $15.50 to $14.60 in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $21.00 price target on shares of Ardent Health in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. KeyCorp reduced their price target on shares of Ardent Health from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ardent Health from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ardent Health has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $19.97.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ardent Health

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in Ardent Health during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in Ardent Health by 990.6% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,203 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 2,001 shares during the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new position in Ardent Health during the 1st quarter worth $36,000. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in Ardent Health by 1,251.9% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,866 shares of the company's stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 2,654 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its holdings in Ardent Health by 1,519.4% during the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 5,020 shares of the company's stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 4,710 shares during the last quarter.

Ardent Health Stock Up 3.5%

The company has a current ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.70 billion and a PE ratio of 6.56. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $12.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $13.48.

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.