Brookdale Senior Living (NYSE:BKD) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Stephens

Key Points

• Stephens upgraded Brookdale Senior Living to a "Strong-Buy", joining other recent upgrades and leaving the analyst consensus at an average "Buy" with a mean price target of $16.50.
• The company reported Q4 EPS of ($0.17), slightly missing estimates, and posted a negative net margin (8.22%) and a deeply negative return on equity (305.28%), highlighting ongoing profitability challenges.
• Shares opened at $13.79 (down 2.4%), the stock has a market cap of $3.28 billion and a negative P/E of -12.42, with analyst price targets ranging up to $18.00.

Brookdale Senior Living (NYSE:BKD - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Stephens to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Barclays lifted their price target on Brookdale Senior Living to $18.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Brookdale Senior Living in a report on Friday, February 20th. Zacks Research raised Brookdale Senior Living from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Brookdale Senior Living in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Bank of America raised Brookdale Senior Living from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $6.75 to $13.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Brookdale Senior Living has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $16.50.

Brookdale Senior Living Stock Down 2.4%

Brookdale Senior Living stock opened at $13.79 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $14.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $11.81. Brookdale Senior Living has a 12-month low of $5.61 and a 12-month high of $17.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.42 and a beta of 0.73.

Brookdale Senior Living (NYSE:BKD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The company reported ($0.17) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.16) by ($0.01). Brookdale Senior Living had a negative net margin of 8.22% and a negative return on equity of 305.28%. The business had revenue of $754.09 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $753.60 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Brookdale Senior Living will post -0.56 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Brookdale Senior Living

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Brookdale Senior Living by 24.5% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,609,307 shares of the company's stock worth $98,331,000 after purchasing an additional 2,282,151 shares during the period. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. increased its position in Brookdale Senior Living by 34.9% in the fourth quarter. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. now owns 8,497,048 shares of the company's stock worth $91,683,000 after purchasing an additional 2,199,000 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in Brookdale Senior Living by 3.8% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,507,559 shares of the company's stock worth $45,293,000 after purchasing an additional 238,042 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Brookdale Senior Living by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,469,453 shares of the company's stock worth $59,025,000 after purchasing an additional 42,375 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp increased its position in Brookdale Senior Living by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,408,898 shares of the company's stock worth $58,362,000 after purchasing an additional 185,205 shares during the period.

About Brookdale Senior Living

Brookdale Senior Living Inc NYSE: BKD is one of the nation's largest operators of senior living communities, offering a full spectrum of living options that includes independent living, assisted living, memory care, continuing care retirement communities, respite care and skilled nursing services. The company emphasizes programs and amenities that support wellness, social engagement and overall quality of life for older adults.

Across the United States and Puerto Rico, Brookdale manages more than 700 communities serving tens of thousands of residents.

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