Community Healthcare Trust Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:CHCT)

Community Healthcare Trust Incorporated (NYSE:CHCT) was the target of some unusual options trading on Monday. Stock traders acquired 6,854 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 6,894% compared to the average daily volume of 98 put options.

Insider Buying and Selling at Community Healthcare Trust

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Community Healthcare Trust in the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its position in Community Healthcare Trust by 264.1% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,824 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 1,323 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in Community Healthcare Trust by 65.7% in the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 9,152 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $214,000 after purchasing an additional 3,630 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in Community Healthcare Trust by 67.9% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,062 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $215,000 after purchasing an additional 3,260 shares during the period. Finally, Hancock Whitney Corp purchased a new stake in Community Healthcare Trust in the first quarter valued at approximately $217,000. 87.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Community Healthcare Trust Price Performance

Shares of Community Healthcare Trust stock opened at $17.82 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $493.63 million, a P/E ratio of 27.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.69. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.33. Community Healthcare Trust has a 1-year low of $15.06 and a 1-year high of $32.67.

Community Healthcare Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a dividend of $0.4625 per share. This is a boost from Community Healthcare Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.85 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. Community Healthcare Trust’s payout ratio is currently 289.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Community Healthcare Trust Company Profile

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).