Community Health Systems, Inc. (NYSE:CYH) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" by Brokerages

Shares of Community Health Systems, Inc. (NYSE:CYH - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the five ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $4.00.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CYH. Barclays began coverage on shares of Community Health Systems in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $3.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Community Health Systems from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of Community Health Systems from $5.50 to $4.50 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday.

Community Health Systems Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CYH traded up $0.22 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $3.25. The stock had a trading volume of 4,951,175 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,080,406. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $3.08 and a 200-day moving average of $3.06. Community Health Systems has a 12-month low of $2.01 and a 12-month high of $6.53. The company has a market capitalization of $451.69 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.16 and a beta of 1.52.

Community Health Systems (NYSE:CYH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported ($0.14) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.19) by $0.05. Community Health Systems had a negative net margin of 1.07% and a negative return on equity of 5.51%. The business had revenue of $3.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.09 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.43) EPS. The business's revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Community Health Systems will post -0.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Community Health Systems

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Red Door Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Community Health Systems by 126.6% during the first quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC now owns 26,060 shares of the company's stock worth $91,000 after acquiring an additional 14,560 shares during the period. Jones Road Capital Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Community Health Systems by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. Jones Road Capital Management L.P. now owns 150,000 shares of the company's stock worth $470,000 after acquiring an additional 50,000 shares during the period. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Community Health Systems during the fourth quarter worth approximately $300,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in shares of Community Health Systems by 669.0% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 29,759 shares of the company's stock worth $93,000 after acquiring an additional 25,889 shares during the period. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Community Health Systems during the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. 84.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Community Health Systems

Community Health Systems, Inc owns, leases, and operates general acute care hospitals in the United States. It offers general acute care, emergency room, general and specialty surgery, critical care, internal medicine, obstetrics, diagnostic, psychiatric, and rehabilitation services, as well as skilled nursing and home care services.