Community Healthcare Trust (NYSE:CHCT) Hits New 12-Month High After Analyst Upgrade

Community Healthcare Trust Incorporated (NYSE:CHCT) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday after Truist Financial raised their price target on the stock from $19.00 to $20.00. Truist Financial currently has a buy rating on the stock. Community Healthcare Trust traded as high as $18.29 and last traded at $18.22, with a volume of 16116 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.86.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Community Healthcare Trust from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Community Healthcare Trust from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Zacks Research downgraded Community Healthcare Trust from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Community Healthcare Trust in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Evercore set a $17.00 price target on Community Healthcare Trust in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Community Healthcare Trust presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $18.33.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CHCT. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Community Healthcare Trust by 18.6% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 43,689 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $793,000 after purchasing an additional 6,856 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in Community Healthcare Trust in the 1st quarter valued at about $231,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Community Healthcare Trust by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 252,492 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,585,000 after purchasing an additional 3,697 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC raised its stake in Community Healthcare Trust by 339.7% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 89,755 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,630,000 after purchasing an additional 69,343 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning acquired a new position in Community Healthcare Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at about $196,000. 87.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Community Healthcare Trust Trading Up 0.7%

The firm’s 50 day moving average is $17.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $16.74. The stock has a market cap of $513.97 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 163.61 and a beta of 0.73.

Community Healthcare Trust (NYSE:CHCT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.10 by ($0.03). Community Healthcare Trust had a net margin of 4.94% and a return on equity of 1.41%. The firm had revenue of $31.52 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.03 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that Community Healthcare Trust Incorporated will post 1.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Community Healthcare Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This is a positive change from Community Healthcare Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Community Healthcare Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 1,745.45%.

About Community Healthcare Trust

Community Healthcare Trust Incorporated (NYSE:CHCT) is a real estate investment trust that specializes in owning and leasing healthcare-related properties. The company’s portfolio is focused primarily on senior housing and care facilities, including skilled nursing centers, assisted living communities, memory care units, independent living apartments and continuing care retirement communities. Through long‐term, triple‐net leases, Community Healthcare Trust seeks stable, predictable cash flows by partnering with experienced operators that manage day-to-day resident care and property operations.

As of the latest reporting, Community Healthcare Trust’s holdings span multiple regions across the United States, with properties located in both urban and suburban markets.