Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Invests $422,000 in Ardent Health, Inc. (NYSE:ARDT)

Key Points

• Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH has invested $422,000 in Ardent Health, acquiring 30,684 shares in the 1st quarter, highlighting growing interest in the healthcare provider.
• Ardent Health's stock opened at $10.21 with a market capitalization of $1.46 billion, and analysts predict an earnings per share of 1.23 for the fiscal year.
• Brokerages have mixed ratings on Ardent Health, with targets ranging from $14.60 to $21.00, but consensus indicates a "Moderate Buy" rating.

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in Ardent Health, Inc. (NYSE:ARDT - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 30,684 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $422,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ARDT. Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Ardent Health by 220.6% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 169,475 shares of the company's stock worth $2,895,000 after purchasing an additional 116,610 shares in the last quarter. Ventas Inc. bought a new stake in Ardent Health during the 4th quarter worth approximately $159,570,000. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Ardent Health by 24.7% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 26,177 shares of the company's stock worth $447,000 after purchasing an additional 5,185 shares in the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Ardent Health during the 4th quarter worth approximately $481,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in Ardent Health by 46.8% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 24,827 shares of the company's stock worth $341,000 after purchasing an additional 7,914 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ARDT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America cut Ardent Health from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $15.50 to $14.60 in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $21.00 price target on shares of Ardent Health in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ardent Health from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $21.00 price target on shares of Ardent Health in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Ardent Health from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $19.97.

Ardent Health Stock Performance

Ardent Health stock traded up $0.50 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $11.97. 273,977 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 405,337. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $12.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $13.49. Ardent Health, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $10.10 and a fifty-two week high of $20.72. The stock has a market cap of $1.71 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 2.12 and a quick ratio of 1.98.

Ardent Health (NYSE:ARDT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.22. Ardent Health had a return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 4.11%. The business had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.54 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Ardent Health, Inc. will post 1.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ardent Health 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.