Community Health Systems Shares Popped: What You Need to Know

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: The pop didn't last all day, but for a minute there, Community Health Systems (NYS: CYH) shares were up 11% in early trading.

So what: Let's start with earnings, where Community Health reported an 11.5% increase in revenue to $3.4 billion and earnings per share from continuing operations of $0.81, $0.03 better than estimates. The company also announced that it's buying a 358-bed hospital in Texas.

Now what: Shares spiked higher to start the day but ran out of steam right after the company's conference call began. With the company's results slightly better than expected and its shares trading at just 7.4 times forward earnings estimates, I think there's plenty of value in the stock at this price. Shares are still trading near a 52-week low, and I think they're ready to pop after this earnings report.

Interested in more info on Community Health Systems? Add it to your watchlist.

At the time thisarticle was published Fool contributor Travis Hoium has no position in any company mentioned. You can follow Travis on Twitter at @FlushDrawFool, check out his personal stock holdings, or follow his CAPS picks at TMFFlushDraw.Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools don't all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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