Community Health Systems (NYSE:CYH) Trading Up 5.6% – Should You Buy?

Community Health Systems, Inc. (NYSE:CYH) shares were up 5.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $3.78 and last traded at $3.77. Approximately 84,541 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 95% from the average daily volume of 1,806,226 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.57.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CYH. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Community Health Systems from $4.70 to $5.10 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Community Health Systems from $3.00 to $5.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Community Health Systems from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $5.00 to $2.50 in a report on Monday. Raymond James cut Community Health Systems from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com cut Community Health Systems from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $4.77.

Community Health Systems Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $4.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $4.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $480.76 million, a PE ratio of -1.15 and a beta of 1.60.

Community Health Systems (NYSE:CYH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported ($0.30) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.16) by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $3.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. Community Health Systems’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.33) EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Community Health Systems, Inc. will post -0.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Community Health Systems

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Community Health Systems by 6.8% during the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 33,269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,000 after purchasing an additional 2,106 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in Community Health Systems by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 49,701 shares of the company’s stock valued at $167,000 after buying an additional 2,739 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of Community Health Systems by 32.1% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 12,191 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 2,961 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Community Health Systems by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 75,520 shares of the company’s stock valued at $422,000 after acquiring an additional 2,989 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC bought a new stake in Community Health Systems in the third quarter worth $33,000. 84.99% of the stock is currently owned by 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.