Short Interest in Community Healthcare Trust Incorporated (NYSE:CHCT) Grows By 30.2%

Community Healthcare Trust Incorporated (NYSE:CHCT) saw a large increase in short interest in August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 739,800 shares, an increase of 30.2% from the July 31st total of 568,200 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 254,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.9 days.

Community Healthcare Trust Stock Performance

NYSE CHCT remained flat at $18.73 during trading hours on Friday. 228,570 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 315,214. Community Healthcare Trust has a one year low of $17.64 and a one year high of $33.59. The company has a market cap of $525.56 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.27, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.68. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $22.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.13.

Community Healthcare Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a $0.4625 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This is a boost from Community Healthcare Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.85 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.88%. Community Healthcare Trust’s payout ratio is 289.06%.

Insider Transactions at Community Healthcare Trust

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

Institutional Trading of Community Healthcare Trust

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CHCT. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Community Healthcare Trust during the fourth quarter valued at $497,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of Community Healthcare Trust in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $338,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Community Healthcare Trust by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 160,729 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,282,000 after purchasing an additional 1,110 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in Community Healthcare Trust by 25.1% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,740 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $100,000 after buying an additional 751 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 9,511 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.84% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CHCT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Community Healthcare Trust from $29.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. StockNews.com cut shares of Community Healthcare Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Community Healthcare Trust from $30.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Community Healthcare Trust from $25.00 to $21.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $23.50.

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).