Wall Street Zen Upgrades Ardent Health (NYSE:ARDT) to Strong-Buy

Key Points

• Ardent Health has been upgraded to a "strong-buy" rating by Wall Street Zen, indicating increased investor confidence in the company's stock.
• Analyst ratings for Ardent Health vary, with one sell rating, one hold rating, ten buy ratings, and two strong buy ratings, culminating in a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• The company's recent financial performance shows an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.52 for the quarter, significantly surpassing analysts' expectations of $0.30.

Ardent Health (NYSE:ARDT - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Bank of America cut shares of Ardent Health from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and cut their target price for the company from $15.50 to $14.60 in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Ardent Health from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. KeyCorp dropped their price objective on shares of Ardent Health from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $21.00 price objective on shares of Ardent Health in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $21.00 price objective on shares of Ardent Health in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $19.55.

Ardent Health Stock Up 2.7%

Shares of NYSE:ARDT traded up $0.33 during trading on Friday, hitting $12.37. 231,300 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 405,318. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.77 billion and a P/E ratio of 6.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 2.00. Ardent Health has a 12-month low of $10.10 and a 12-month high of $20.72. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $12.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $13.44.

Ardent Health (NYSE:ARDT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.22. The business 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%. On average, research analysts predict that Ardent Health will post 1.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ardent Health

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC lifted its holdings in Ardent Health by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 87,639 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,197,000 after purchasing an additional 1,319 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Ardent Health during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Ardent Health by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 286,848 shares of the company's stock worth $3,918,000 after purchasing an additional 1,769 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its position in Ardent Health by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 101,798 shares of the company's stock worth $1,739,000 after purchasing an additional 1,798 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 2,001 shares in the last quarter.

Ardent Health Company Profile

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.