Ardent Health Partners (NYSE:ARDT) Shares Gap Up Following Earnings Beat

Ardent Health Partners, LLC (NYSE:ARDT) shares gapped up before the market opened on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $14.01, but opened at $15.59. Ardent Health Partners shares last traded at $15.15, with a volume of 151,385 shares traded.

The company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $20.00 target price on shares of Ardent Health Partners in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Leerink Partners increased their price objective on shares of Ardent Health Partners from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Bank of America downgraded Ardent Health Partners from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $22.00 to $19.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Ardent Health Partners from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $22.00 price target on shares of Ardent Health Partners in a report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ardent Health Partners currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $21.36.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ardent Health Partners

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ventas Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ardent Health Partners during the 4th quarter worth about $159,570,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Ardent Health Partners by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,609,720 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,494,000 after acquiring an additional 117,421 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in Ardent Health Partners during the third quarter worth approximately $28,724,000. Goldentree Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in Ardent Health Partners in the third quarter worth approximately $22,897,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Ardent Health Partners by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 917,926 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,678,000 after purchasing an additional 78,575 shares in the last quarter.

Ardent Health Partners Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a current ratio of 1.91. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $15.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $16.85.

Ardent Health Partners Company Profile

Ardent Health Partners, Inc owns and operates a network of hospitals and clinics that provides a range of healthcare services in the United States. It operates acute care hospitals, including rehabilitation hospitals and surgical hospitals. The company was founded in 2001 and is based in Brentwood, Tennessee.