Zacks Research Downgrades Ardent Health (NYSE:ARDT) to Strong Sell

Ardent Health (NYSE:ARDT) was downgraded by Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

ARDT has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Ardent Health in a report on Friday, June 12th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Ardent Health from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen lowered Ardent Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $13.00 target price on shares of Ardent Health in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Guggenheim upped their target price on Ardent Health from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.95.

Ardent Health Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE ARDT opened at $11.57 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $1.66 billion, a PE ratio of 21.04, a PEG ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.70. Ardent Health has a 12 month low of $7.71 and a 12 month high of $15.48. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $9.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.50. The company has a current ratio of 2.12, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

Ardent Health (NYSE:ARDT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. Ardent Health had a net margin of 1.22% and a return on equity of 10.45%. Ardent Health has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.780-1.150 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Ardent Health will post 0.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Ardent Health

In related news, CFO Alfred Lumsdaine purchased 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $8.81 per share, for a total transaction of $88,100.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer owned 329,183 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,900,102.23. The trade was a 3.13% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ardent Health

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ARDT. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Ardent Health during the second quarter valued at about $21,415,000. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in Ardent Health in the second quarter worth about $226,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Ardent Health in the second quarter worth about $2,377,000. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in shares of Ardent Health during the second quarter valued at about $218,000. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ardent Health during the second quarter valued at about $891,000.

About Ardent Health

Ardent Health, listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker ARDT, is a healthcare delivery company focused on acquiring, developing and managing acute care hospitals and complementary outpatient facilities across the United States. The company’s integrated platform encompasses both inpatient and outpatient services, designed to provide end-to-end care solutions and address the full continuum of patient needs.

Through its network, Ardent Health operates general hospitals, emergency departments, ambulatory surgery centers, urgent care clinics, rehabilitation and post-acute care facilities.