Community Health Systems, Inc. (NYSE:CYH) Stock Now Rated "Reduce" by Wall Street Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts rate Community Health Systems “Reduce” on average: Of eight covering analysts, four recommend selling, three hold, and one buy; the average 12-month price target is $2.51.
• Quarterly results missed expectations: CYH reported a loss of $0.48 per share versus a consensus loss of $0.29, while revenue fell 10.7% year over year to $2.76 billion.
• A company director sold 40,000 shares for $118,400, reducing his direct holdings by 50.98%. Institutional investors own 84.99% of the stock.

Community Health Systems, Inc. (NYSE:CYH - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Reduce" from the eight analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $2.51.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on CYH shares. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Community Health Systems in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $3.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on Community Health Systems from $5.00 to $4.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Wall Street Zen cut Community Health Systems from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th. UBS Group cut their target price on Community Health Systems from $3.00 to $2.55 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Community Health Systems from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Monday.

Insider Activity at Community Health Systems

In other news, Director William Jennings sold 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.96, for a total value of $118,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 38,468 shares in the company, valued at approximately $113,865.28. This trade represents a 50.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 11.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CYH. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Community Health Systems during the 2nd quarter valued at $36,508,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Community Health Systems in the second quarter worth $5,904,000. Helix Partners Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Community Health Systems in the second quarter worth $1,336,000. Carronade Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of Community Health Systems by 306.7% in the first quarter. Carronade Capital Management LP now owns 1,321,923 shares of the company's stock worth $3,886,000 after buying an additional 996,923 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whitebox Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Community Health Systems by 42.1% during the first quarter. Whitebox Advisors LLC now owns 3,127,884 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,196,000 after buying an additional 926,364 shares during the period. 84.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Community Health Systems Price Performance

NYSE:CYH opened at $2.29 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $322.25 million, a P/E ratio of 8.79 and a beta of 1.90. Community Health Systems has a 1 year low of $2.04 and a 1 year high of $3.92. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $2.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3.02.

Community Health Systems (NYSE:CYH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The company reported ($0.48) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.29) by ($0.19). Community Health Systems had a negative return on equity of 6.66% and a net margin of 0.31%. The business had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.80 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.27 EPS. Community Health Systems's revenue for the quarter was down 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Community Health Systems will post -1.54 earnings per share for the current year.

About Community Health Systems

Community Health Systems, Inc NYSE: CYH is a healthcare services company that owns, leases, and operates general acute-care hospitals and related healthcare facilities in the United States. The company focuses primarily on serving communities in small cities and non-urban markets, providing access to hospital-based and outpatient care.

Its services generally include emergency care, inpatient and outpatient treatment, surgery, diagnostic imaging, laboratory services, rehabilitation, and other clinical programs.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.