Community Health Systems (NYSE:CYH) versus Ardent Health Partners (NYSE:ARDT) Critical Review

Community Health Systems (NYSE:CYH) and Ardent Health Partners (NYSE:ARDT) are both medical companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, risk, valuation, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

85.0% of Community Health Systems shares are held by institutional investors. 9.9% of Community Health Systems shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Community Health Systems and Ardent Health Partners’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Community Health Systems	-3.18%	N/A	-0.95%
Ardent Health Partners	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Community Health Systems and Ardent Health Partners, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Community Health Systems	0	4	2	0	2.33
Ardent Health Partners	0	2	8	2	3.00

Community Health Systems presently has a consensus price target of $5.18, suggesting a potential upside of 34.98%. Ardent Health Partners has a consensus price target of $21.82, suggesting a potential upside of 31.36%. Given Community Health Systems’ higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Community Health Systems is more favorable than Ardent Health Partners.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Community Health Systems and Ardent Health Partners”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Community Health Systems	$12.49 billion	0.04	-$133.00 million	($3.02)	-1.27
Ardent Health Partners	$5.41 billion	0.44	$53.90 million	N/A	N/A

Ardent Health Partners has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Community Health Systems.

Summary

Ardent Health Partners beats Community Health Systems on 7 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

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. The company also provides outpatient services at primary care practices, urgent care centers, free-standing emergency departments, ambulatory surgery centers, imaging and diagnostic centers, and direct-to-consumer virtual health visits. The company was incorporated in 1996 and is headquartered in Franklin, Tennessee.

About Ardent Health Partners

Ardent Health Partners, Inc. owns and operates a network of hospitals and clinics that provides a range of healthcare services in the United States. It operates acute care hospitals, including rehabilitation hospitals and surgical hospitals. The company was founded in 2001 and is based in Brentwood, Tennessee. Ardent Health Partners, Inc. is a subsidiary of EGI-AM Investments, L.L.C.