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

Community Health Systems, Inc. (NYSE:CYH - Get Free Report) gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $3.35, but opened at $3.19. Community Health Systems shares last traded at $3.61, with a volume of 2,147,916 shares.

The company reported ($0.42) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.51). The firm had revenue of $3.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.14 billion.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Raymond James lowered Community Health Systems from a "market perform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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, November 25th. StockNews.com upgraded Community Health Systems from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays dropped their price objective on Community Health Systems from $5.00 to $4.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on Community Health Systems from $4.80 to $4.10 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Community Health Systems presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $4.18.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Community Health Systems

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Community Health Systems by 157.8% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,166,890 shares of the company's stock worth $12,459,000 after buying an additional 2,550,678 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Community Health Systems by 301.3% during the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 334,189 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,029,000 after buying an additional 250,909 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Community Health Systems by 1,278.2% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 707,805 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,296,000 after buying an additional 656,447 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC bought a new position in shares of Community Health Systems during the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Community Health Systems by 93.1% during the fourth quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 49,580 shares of the company's stock worth $148,000 after purchasing an additional 23,902 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.99% of the company's stock.

Community Health Systems Stock Down 0.7 %

The stock's fifty day moving average price is $3.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $4.27. The company has a market capitalization of $488.30 million, a PE ratio of -0.90 and a beta of 1.63.

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.