Head-To-Head Analysis: Community Health Systems (CYH) and Its Rivals

Community Health Systems (NYSE:CYH) is one of 233 publicly-traded companies in the “Healthcare Providers & Services” industry, but how does it weigh in compared to its peers? We will compare Community Health Systems to similar companies based on the strength of its analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings, valuation, institutional ownership, profitability and risk.

Profitability

This table compares Community Health Systems and its peers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Community Health Systems	0.31%	-6.66%	-1.24%
Community Health Systems Competitors	-7.69%	-141.09%	-1.47%

Risk & Volatility

Community Health Systems has a beta of 1.9, suggesting that its stock price is 90% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Community Health Systems’ peers have a beta of 0.98, suggesting that their average stock price is 2% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Community Health Systems and its peers, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Community Health Systems	4	3	1	0	1.62
Community Health Systems Competitors	1851	7707	13270	815	2.55

Community Health Systems presently has a consensus target price of $2.59, suggesting a potential upside of 26.73%. As a group, “Healthcare Providers & Services” companies have a potential upside of 16.00%. Given Community Health Systems’ higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Community Health Systems is more favorable than its peers.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

85.0% of Community Health Systems shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 56.8% of shares of all “Healthcare Providers & Services” companies are held by institutional investors. 11.1% of Community Health Systems shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 15.0% of shares of all “Healthcare Providers & Services” companies are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Community Health Systems and its peers top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Community Health Systems	$12.48 billion	$509.00 million	7.87
Community Health Systems Competitors	$21.01 billion	$288.54 million	7.40

Community Health Systems’ peers have higher revenue, but lower earnings than Community Health Systems. Community Health Systems is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Summary

Community Health Systems beats its peers on 8 of the 13 factors compared.

Community Health Systems Company Profile

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. The company also provides outpatient services at primary care practices, urgent care centers, free-standing emergency departments, ambulatory surgery centers, imaging and diagnostic centers, and direct-to-consumer virtual health visits. The company was incorporated in 1996 and is headquartered in Franklin, Tennessee.