Traders Buy High Volume of Put Options on Community Healthcare Trust (NYSE:CHCT)

Community Healthcare Trust Incorporated (NYSE:CHCT) was the target of some unusual options trading on Monday. Stock investors bought 6,854 put options on the company. This is an increase of 6,894% compared to the typical volume of 98 put options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CHCT. Truist Financial cut their target price on Community Healthcare Trust from $30.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Evercore ISI raised shares of 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 report on Monday. Robert W. Baird lowered 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 report on Wednesday, July 31st. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Community Healthcare Trust from $21.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Community Healthcare Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. One 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Community Healthcare Trust presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.75.

Insider Activity at Community Healthcare Trust

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in Community Healthcare Trust by 1.8% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 29,755 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $790,000 after purchasing an additional 527 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Community Healthcare Trust by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 10,625 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $249,000 after buying an additional 552 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its stake in shares of Community Healthcare Trust by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 14,703 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $390,000 after acquiring an additional 558 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Community Healthcare Trust by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 16,686 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $444,000 after acquiring an additional 919 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TBH Global Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Community Healthcare Trust by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. TBH Global Asset Management LLC now owns 23,832 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $633,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares during the period. 87.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Community Healthcare Trust Price Performance

Shares of Community Healthcare Trust stock traded up $0.03 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $17.41. 300,671 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 227,477. The stock has a market capitalization of $482.27 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.22, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.69. Community Healthcare Trust has a 12-month low of $15.06 and a 12-month high of $32.67. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $20.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.39.

Community Healthcare Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were given a $0.4625 dividend. This is a positive change from Community Healthcare Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $1.85 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.63%. Community Healthcare Trust’s payout ratio is currently 289.06%.

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).