Community Healthcare Trust (NYSE:CHCT) Shares Down 5% After Earnings Miss

Community Healthcare Trust Incorporated (NYSE:CHCT) dropped 5% during trading on Wednesday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as low as $27.02 and last traded at $27.24. Approximately 36,950 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 67% from the average daily volume of 113,306 shares. The stock had previously closed at $28.67.

The real estate investment trust reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.63 by ($0.52). Community Healthcare Trust had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 2.14%. The company had revenue of $28.74 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $28.77 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.63 earnings per share.

Community Healthcare Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 9th will be paid a $0.455 dividend. This is an increase from Community Healthcare Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.56%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 8th. Community Healthcare Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 568.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CHCT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird downgraded Community Healthcare Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 22nd. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Community Healthcare Trust in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Community Healthcare Trust has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.00.

Institutional Trading of Community Healthcare Trust

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CHCT. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Community Healthcare Trust by 134.2% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 714,109 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $25,565,000 after buying an additional 409,213 shares during the period. Palisade Capital Management LP raised its holdings in Community Healthcare Trust by 104.0% during the fourth quarter. Palisade Capital Management LP now owns 434,532 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $15,556,000 after purchasing an additional 221,499 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in Community Healthcare Trust by 4.7% during the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 4,862,191 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $160,550,000 after purchasing an additional 217,326 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Community Healthcare Trust by 11.6% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,502,304 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $63,412,000 after purchasing an additional 156,449 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Community Healthcare Trust by 111.8% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 269,028 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $9,846,000 after purchasing an additional 141,996 shares during the last quarter. 89.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Community Healthcare Trust Stock Down 3.2 %

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $30.23 and a 200-day moving average of $33.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $737.28 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 86.75, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.75.

Community Healthcare Trust Company Profile

Community Healthcare Trust Incorporated is a real estate investment trust that focuses on owning income-producing real estate properties associated primarily with the delivery of outpatient healthcare services in our target sub-markets throughout the United States. As of June 30, 2023, the Company had investments of approximately $991.2 million in 184 real estate properties (including a portion of one property accounted for as a sales-type lease and one property classified as held for sale).