Community Healthcare Trust (NYSE:CHCT) Hits New 12-Month High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Community Healthcare Trust (NYSE:CHCT) hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $18.69 and closing near that level after a 3.5% gain. The move came with relatively strong volume of about 100,337 shares.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious overall: one analyst rates the stock a Buy, while three have Hold ratings, giving CHCT a consensus Hold and an average price target of $18.33. Truist Financial recently raised its target to $20 and reiterated a Buy rating.
• The REIT reported mixed quarterly results, missing EPS expectations at $0.07 versus $0.10 expected, though revenue came in slightly above estimates. It also pays a high dividend yield of about 10.3%, but the payout ratio is extremely elevated.

Community Healthcare Trust Incorporated (NYSE:CHCT - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $18.69 and last traded at $18.66, with a volume of 100337 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $17.97.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on CHCT shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Community Healthcare Trust from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Wall Street Zen lowered Community Healthcare Trust from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on Community Healthcare Trust from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $18.33.

Community Healthcare Trust Stock Up 3.5%

The company has a market cap of $531.26 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 169.32 and a beta of 0.71. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $17.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $17.16.

Community Healthcare Trust (NYSE:CHCT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.10 by ($0.03). Community Healthcare Trust had a net margin of 4.94% and a return on equity of 1.41%. The company had revenue of $31.52 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.03 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Community Healthcare Trust Incorporated will post 1.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Community Healthcare Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a $0.48 dividend. This is a boost from Community Healthcare Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.3%. Community Healthcare Trust's payout ratio is currently 1,745.45%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CHCT. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Community Healthcare Trust by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,804,298 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $42,906,000 after acquiring an additional 67,241 shares in the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP boosted its holdings in Community Healthcare Trust by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,123,736 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $18,452,000 after purchasing an additional 38,532 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Community Healthcare Trust by 38.9% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,060,213 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $16,221,000 after purchasing an additional 297,179 shares during the period. Kennedy Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Community Healthcare Trust by 26.5% in the 4th quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 1,019,810 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $16,745,000 after purchasing an additional 213,349 shares during the period. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth raised its holdings in shares of Community Healthcare Trust by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 743,324 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $11,373,000 after buying an additional 5,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.84% of the company's stock.

About Community Healthcare Trust

Community Healthcare Trust Incorporated NYSE: CHCT is a real estate investment trust that specializes in owning and leasing healthcare-related properties. The company's portfolio is focused primarily on senior housing and care facilities, including skilled nursing centers, assisted living communities, memory care units, independent living apartments and continuing care retirement communities. Through long‐term, triple‐net leases, Community Healthcare Trust seeks stable, predictable cash flows by partnering with experienced operators that manage day-to-day resident care and property operations.

As of the latest reporting, Community Healthcare Trust's holdings span multiple regions across the United States, with properties located in both urban and suburban markets.

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