Community Healthcare Trust Incorporated (NYSE:CHCT) Short Interest Up 47.2% in September

Community Healthcare Trust Incorporated (NYSE:CHCT) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,080,000 shares, a growth of 47.2% from the August 31st total of 733,900 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 436,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.5 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Community Healthcare Trust from $30.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 30th. StockNews.com cut shares of Community Healthcare Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Community Healthcare Trust from $29.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Evercore ISI upgraded Community Healthcare Trust from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $21.00 to $18.00 in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Community Healthcare Trust from $21.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Community Healthcare Trust presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.75.

Community Healthcare Trust Stock Up 2.2 %

CHCT stock traded up $0.38 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $17.86. The stock had a trading volume of 454,532 shares, compared to its average volume of 274,122. The firm has a market cap of $494.74 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.31, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.69. Community Healthcare Trust has a twelve month low of $15.06 and a twelve month high of $29.86. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.83.

Community Healthcare Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a dividend of $0.4625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $1.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.36%. This is a boost from Community Healthcare Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Community Healthcare Trust’s payout ratio is currently 289.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Community Healthcare Trust news, Director Robert Z. Hensley acquired 6,500 shares of Community Healthcare Trust stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $19.50 per share, with a total value of $126,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 70,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,378,065. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Community Healthcare Trust news, Director Robert Z. Hensley purchased 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $19.50 per share, with a total value of $126,750.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 70,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,378,065. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO David H. Dupuy purchased 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $19.48 per share, with a total value of $194,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 363,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,082,246.20. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 4.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Community Healthcare Trust

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Community Healthcare Trust by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 203,827 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,430,000 after purchasing an additional 9,511 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Community Healthcare Trust by 25.0% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 34,262 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $913,000 after buying an additional 6,859 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Community Healthcare Trust by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 142,167 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,787,000 after buying an additional 2,206 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Community Healthcare Trust by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 28,830 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $768,000 after buying an additional 2,600 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Community Healthcare Trust by 67.9% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,062 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $215,000 after acquiring an additional 3,260 shares in the last quarter. 87.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Community Healthcare Trust

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 December 31, 2023, the Company had investments of approximately $1.1 billion in 193 real estate properties (including a portion of one property accounted for as a sales-type lease and two properties classified as held for sale).