Community Health Systems (NYSE:CYH) Shares Gap Down on Disappointing Earnings

Shares of Community Health Systems, Inc. (NYSE:CYH) gapped down before the market opened on Thursday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $5.55, but opened at $4.89. Community Health Systems shares last traded at $4.35, with a volume of 2,036,668 shares changing hands.

The company reported ($0.30) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.16) by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $3.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.33) earnings per share.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on CYH shares. Barclays upped their target price on Community Health Systems from $3.00 to $5.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Community Health Systems from $5.50 to $5.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Community Health Systems from $4.50 to $5.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Community Health Systems from $3.50 to $5.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $6.00 price objective on shares of Community Health Systems in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $5.18.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Community Health Systems

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CYH. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Community Health Systems by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,124,617 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,436,000 after purchasing an additional 28,669 shares during the period. Whitebox Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Community Health Systems by 43.3% in the second quarter. Whitebox Advisors LLC now owns 3,020,933 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,150,000 after buying an additional 913,542 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Community Health Systems by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,748,786 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,875,000 after buying an additional 43,145 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Community Health Systems by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 1,657,121 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,800,000 after acquiring an additional 79,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Community Health Systems by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,616,212 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,810,000 after acquiring an additional 91,985 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.99% of the company’s stock.

Community Health Systems Price Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $5.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $4.35. The company has a market cap of $554.47 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.20 and a beta of 1.55.

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.