Community Health Systems (NYSE:CYH) Stock Rating Cut to Strong Sell at Zacks Research

Zacks Research cut shares of Community Health Systems (NYSE:CYH) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research report report published on Monday,Zacks reports.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on CYH. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Community Health Systems in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $3.00 price objective on the stock. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Community Health Systems from $3.25 to $2.50 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Community Health Systems from $2.00 to $1.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group cut their price target on Community Health Systems from $3.00 to $2.55 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Community Health Systems from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $2.59.

Community Health Systems Stock Down 2.6%

NYSE CYH opened at $2.04 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $288.41 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.87 and a beta of 1.90. Community Health Systems has a fifty-two week low of $2.04 and a fifty-two week high of $3.92. The business has a fifty day moving average of $2.83 and a 200-day moving average of $3.03.

Community Health Systems (NYSE:CYH) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The company reported ($0.48) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.29) by ($0.19). Community Health Systems had a net margin of 0.31% and a negative return on equity of 6.66%. The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.80 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.27 earnings per share. Community Health Systems’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Community Health Systems will post -1.68 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Community Health Systems

In other news, Director William Jennings sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.96, for a total transaction of $118,400.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 38,468 shares in the company, valued at $113,865.28. This represents a 50.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 11.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Community Health Systems

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in Community Health Systems during the second quarter valued at about $45,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Community Health Systems in the 1st quarter worth about $40,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Community Health Systems in the 2nd quarter valued at about $64,000. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Community Health Systems during the 2nd quarter worth about $74,000. Finally, M Holdings Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Community Health Systems during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $72,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.99% of the company’s stock.

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.