Community Healthcare Trust Incorporated (NYSE:CHCT) Short Interest Up 101.7% in June

Community Healthcare Trust Incorporated (NYSE:CHCT) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 486,100 shares, an increase of 101.7% from the May 31st total of 241,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 164,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.9 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CHCT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Community Healthcare Trust from $35.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $26.00 target price (down previously from $36.00) on shares of Community Healthcare Trust in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Community Healthcare Trust from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $28.67.

Community Healthcare Trust Price Performance

CHCT stock opened at $23.39 on Friday. Community Healthcare Trust has a 1-year low of $22.03 and a 1-year high of $36.72. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $23.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.48. The company has a market capitalization of $647.90 million, a P/E ratio of 36.55, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.68.

Community Healthcare Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th were given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 9th. This is a boost from Community Healthcare Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Community Healthcare Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 287.50%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Community Healthcare Trust

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CHCT. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in Community Healthcare Trust by 5,664.3% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 590,442 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $15,676,000 after buying an additional 580,199 shares during the period. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Community Healthcare Trust in the 1st quarter worth $7,835,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Community Healthcare Trust by 27.8% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 364,844 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $9,687,000 after purchasing an additional 79,421 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Community Healthcare Trust by 1.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,951,903 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $78,373,000 after purchasing an additional 53,282 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio boosted its position in Community Healthcare Trust by 28.3% during the fourth quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 169,196 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,507,000 after purchasing an additional 37,300 shares in the last quarter. 87.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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).