Acadia Healthcare (NASDAQ:ACHC) Raised to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Acadia Healthcare (NASDAQ:ACHC) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Acadia Healthcare from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Acadia Healthcare from $31.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Acadia Healthcare from $30.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Leerink Partners increased their target price on shares of Acadia Healthcare from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Acadia Healthcare from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.54.

Acadia Healthcare Stock Performance

Shares of Acadia Healthcare stock opened at $37.00 on Friday. Acadia Healthcare has a 52 week low of $11.43 and a 52 week high of $39.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $29.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $26.14. The company has a market cap of $3.44 billion, a PE ratio of -2.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.57 and a beta of 0.64.

Acadia Healthcare (NASDAQ:ACHC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $895.31 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $877.76 million. Acadia Healthcare had a positive return on equity of 6.53% and a negative net margin of 33.07%. Acadia Healthcare’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.72 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Acadia Healthcare will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Acadia Healthcare

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ACHC. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Acadia Healthcare in the second quarter worth $441,685,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Acadia Healthcare by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,703,240 shares of the company’s stock valued at $101,839,000 after purchasing an additional 98,173 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in Acadia Healthcare by 73.0% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,689,442 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,516,000 after purchasing an additional 712,852 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in shares of Acadia Healthcare during the 2nd quarter valued at $49,746,000. Finally, Maverick Capital Ltd. increased its position in shares of Acadia Healthcare by 45.1% during the 1st quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 1,314,116 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,737,000 after purchasing an additional 408,697 shares during the last quarter.

Acadia Healthcare News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Acadia Healthcare this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Acadia reported third-quarter EPS of $0.60, ahead of the $0.46 consensus, and revenue of $895.3 million, above estimates and up 5.1% year over year. The company also raised its full-year guidance, with its outlook described as slightly above expectations. Article
• Positive Sentiment: Guggenheim raised its target to $41 and kept a Buy rating; RBC lifted its target from $31 to $41 and maintained Outperform. These revisions reinforce optimism about further gains. Article Article
• Neutral Sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald raised its target to $39 but retained a Neutral rating, signaling a more cautious view than the bullish analyst calls. Analyst rating
• Negative Sentiment: Quarterly EPS was below the $0.72 reported a year earlier. Barclays raised its target to $35 but kept an Equal Weight rating; that target is below the cited current share price, suggesting limited upside in its view. Analyst rating

Acadia Healthcare Company Profile

Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc is a provider of behavioral healthcare services headquartered in Franklin, Tennessee. The company operates psychiatric hospitals, specialty treatment facilities and outpatient programs focused on mental health and substance use disorders.

Acadia’s services include inpatient and outpatient psychiatric care, addiction treatment, residential treatment, eating-disorder programs, and services for children and adolescents. Its facilities serve patients with a range of behavioral health conditions, including depression, anxiety, trauma-related disorders and substance use disorders.

Founded in 2005, Acadia operates primarily in the United States and also has a significant presence in the United Kingdom through its ownership of Priory, a behavioral healthcare provider.