Ardent Health (NYSE:ARDT) Upgraded to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Ardent Health (NYSE:ARDT) was upgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on ARDT. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Ardent Health from $13.00 to $18.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Ardent Health from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Leerink Partners reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $14.00 price objective on shares of Ardent Health in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Weiss Ratings raised Ardent Health from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Ardent Health from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.54.

Ardent Health Trading Up 8.3%

Shares of Ardent Health stock opened at $17.23 on Friday. Ardent Health has a fifty-two week low of $7.71 and a fifty-two week high of $17.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 1.99 and a current ratio of 2.10. The company has a fifty day moving average of $11.44 and a 200 day moving average of $10.10. The company has a market capitalization of $2.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.58.

Ardent Health (NYSE:ARDT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.60 billion. Ardent Health had a return on equity of 10.35% and a net margin of 1.22%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ardent Health will post 0.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ardent Health

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in Ardent Health by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 69,827 shares of the company’s stock worth $724,000 after purchasing an additional 2,145 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd boosted its holdings in Ardent Health by 35.1% in the third quarter. R Squared Ltd now owns 16,468 shares of the company’s stock valued at $170,000 after acquiring an additional 4,275 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in Ardent Health by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 92,186 shares of the company’s stock worth $953,000 after acquiring an additional 4,773 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in Ardent Health in the 3rd quarter worth about $110,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Ardent Health during the 3rd quarter worth $61,000.

More Ardent Health News

Here are the key news stories impacting Ardent Health this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Ardent reported Q3 earnings of $0.31 per share, ahead of analyst estimates of roughly $0.23–$0.24, and revenue of $1.625 billion versus the $1.60 billion consensus. Recent coverage also highlighted a return to profitability and improved guidance. Zacks Q3 earnings report Profit and guidance coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Stephens raised its price target to $21 from $13 and maintained an Overweight rating, implying further potential upside from the quoted $17.23 share price. Stephens ratings
• Positive Sentiment: RBC lifted its target to $18 from $13 and reiterated an Outperform rating, signaling a more positive view after the results. RBC ratings
• Neutral Sentiment: The strong rally has brought the stock close to its 12-month high, and a recent analysis questioned whether shares may already be above fair value. That could limit further gains if investors have priced in the earnings beat and raised outlook. Valuation analysis
• Negative Sentiment: Despite beating estimates, quarterly EPS was below the $0.52 reported a year earlier, pointing to year-over-year earnings pressure. Zacks earnings comparison

About Ardent Health

Ardent Health is a U.S. healthcare services company that operates hospitals, outpatient facilities and physician practices. Its services include emergency and acute care, surgery, cardiology, orthopedics, oncology, women’s health, behavioral health, rehabilitation, imaging and other specialty and primary care offerings.

The company serves patients through regional health networks and hospital campuses primarily in Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and other U.S. markets. In addition to hospital-based care, Ardent operates outpatient clinics, urgent care locations and other facilities designed to provide services across different stages of the patient-care process.

Ardent Health was founded in 2001 and became a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange in 2024.