Yahoo Finance Will Low Patient Days Impact Community Health (CYH) Q1 Earnings?
Community Health Systems, Inc. CYH is set to report its first-quarter 2024 results on Apr 24, after the closing bell.
Where Do the Estimates Stand?
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for first-quarter loss per share of 19 cents suggests a 55.8% improvement from the prior-year loss of 43 cents. The consensus mark remained stable over the past week. The consensus estimate for first-quarter revenues of nearly $3.1 billion indicates a 0.5% decrease from the year-ago reported figure.
Community Health beat the consensus estimate for earnings in one of the prior four quarters and missed thrice, with the average surprise being negative 411.1%. This is depicted in the graph below:
Community Health Systems, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise
Community Health Systems, Inc. price-eps-surprise | Community Health Systems, Inc. Quote
Before we get into what to expect for the to-be-reported quarter in detail, it’s worth taking a look at CYH’s previous-quarter performance first.
Q4 Earnings Rewind
In the last reported quarter, the hospital operator’s adjusted loss per share of 41 cents lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate of earnings of 3 cents. The quarterly results were affected by declining patient days, length of stay and licensed beds. However, a rise in admissions, lower expenses and increased patient demand partially offset the negatives.
Now, let’s see how things have shaped up before the first-quarter earnings announcement.
Q1 Factors to Note
Lower adjusted admissions, declining beds in services and patient days are expected to have affected Community Health’s first-quarter performance. Both the Zacks Consensus Estimate and our estimate for adjusted admissions indicate a more than 1% year-over-year decline.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for beds in services indicates a 6.4% year-over-year decline, whereas our model estimate predicts a 6.8% decrease. Also, the Zacks Consensus Estimate, as well as our estimate for the number of hospitals, is pegged at 71, indicating a decline from the year-ago figure of 79.
Furthermore, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for patient days indicates a 2.7% year-over-year fall, whereas our model estimate suggests a nearly 2% decrease. The factors stated above are expected to have affected the company’s results, making an earnings beat uncertain.
However, the negatives mentioned above are expected to have been partially offset by lower expenses, which will likely narrow its losses. Our estimate for total operating expenses indicates a 1.5% year-over-year decline due to lower salaries and benefits costs, supply costs, lease costs and rent expenses.
Moreover, the occupancy rate is expected to have increased in the quarter under review. Both the Zacks Consensus Estimate and our estimate for occupancy rate indicate an improvement of 238 basis points to almost 54.3% in the first quarter.
Earnings Whispers
Our proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for Community Health this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the chances of an earnings beat. That is not the case here, as you will see below.
Earnings ESP: The company has an Earnings ESP of 0.00%. This is because the Most Accurate Estimate currently stands at a loss of 19 cents per share, in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate.
You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.
Zacks Rank: Also, Community Health currently carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).
Stocks to Consider
While an earnings beat looks uncertain for Community Health, here are some companies from the broader Medical space that you may want to consider, as our model shows that these have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this time around:
Inspire Medical Systems, Inc. INSP has an Earnings ESP of +18.04% and is a Zacks #1 Ranked player. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Inspire Medical’s bottom line for the to-be-reported quarter has improved by 3.1% over the past month. INSP beat earnings estimates in each of the past four quarters, the average surprise being 353.6%.
Edwards Lifesciences Corporation EW has an Earnings ESP of +1.68% and a Zacks Rank #2.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Edwards Lifesciences’ bottom line for the to-be-reported quarter indicates 3.2% year-over-year growth. EW beat earnings estimates in two of the past four quarters and met on the other occasions, with an average surprise of 0.8%.
Universal Health Services, Inc. UHS has an Earnings ESP of +8.56% and is a Zacks #2 Ranked player.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Universal Health’s earnings per share for the to-be-reported quarter indicates a 34.2% year-over-year jump. UHS beat earnings estimates in each of the past four quarters, the average surprise being 5.9%.
Stay on top of upcoming earnings announcements with the Zacks Earnings Calendar.
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Universal Health Services, Inc. (UHS) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (EW) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Community Health Systems, Inc. (CYH) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Inspire Medical Systems, Inc. (INSP) : Free Stock Analysis Report
