Ardent Health (NYSE:ARDT) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Wall Street Zen

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 research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on ARDT. Guggenheim upped their target price on Ardent Health from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $21.00 target price on shares of Ardent Health in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Bank of America lowered 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 research report on Wednesday, July 16th. KeyCorp cut their target price on Ardent Health from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $21.00 target price on shares of Ardent Health in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Ardent Health currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $19.56.

Ardent Health Price Performance

ARDT stock traded up $0.28 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $12.75. 118,841 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 404,926. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.82 billion and a PE ratio of 7.09. Ardent Health has a 52 week low of $10.10 and a 52 week high of $20.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 2.00. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $12.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $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 analysts' consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.22. Ardent Health had a return on equity of 16.66% and a net margin of 4.11%. The business had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.54 billion. As a group, analysts expect that Ardent Health will post 1.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ardent Health

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Ardent Health by 66.8% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 13,992 shares of the company's stock worth $239,000 after purchasing an additional 5,602 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Ardent Health in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,548,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ardent Health by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 142,563 shares of the company's stock worth $2,435,000 after purchasing an additional 2,127 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its stake in shares of Ardent Health by 52.6% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 8,704 shares of the company's stock worth $149,000 after purchasing an additional 3,002 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Ardent Health by 24.7% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 26,177 shares of the company's stock worth $447,000 after purchasing an additional 5,185 shares during 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.