Ardent Health, Inc. (ARDT)

Price$10.80Cached quoteAs of 2026-09-04 16:23 UTC

AI: Undervalued

Price checkThe shares look undervalued, though weak hospital volumes justify a discount.

At an equity value of roughly $1.55 billion, the shares trade near 11 times the midpoint of management’s 2026 earnings-per-share forecast of $0.78 to $1.15, with a range of about 9.5 to 14 times. Enterprise value—equity value plus debt minus cash—is about $1.93 billion, or 3.6 to 4.0 times forecast adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization. Those low multiples support an Undervalued verdict, although the adjusted measure omits necessary rent and several restructuring costs.

Big pictureRevenue keeps growing, but profit and cash still depend on uneven payment timing.

Revenue rose 23% from $5.13 billion in 2022 to $6.32 billion in 2025, yet operating income fell from $311 million to $286 million and net income from $189 million to $136 million. Free cash flow—cash left after operations and property spending—improved to about $259 million in 2025. However, first-half 2026 free cash flow was only about $70 million and included a $103 million boost from working-capital timing. Earnings remain sensitive to surgery volumes and Medicaid payment timing.

Business strengthStrong liquidity limits balance-sheet risk, while buybacks have modestly reduced dilution.

Cash of $724 million against $1.10 billion of debt leaves $377 million of net debt, meaning debt after subtracting cash. Current assets were about 2.1 times current liabilities, and available liquidity was $992 million. Lease-adjusted borrowing remained less comfortable at 2.6 times earnings because annual rent to major property landlords is forecast at $168 million. Ardent repurchased 1.4 million shares for $13 million during the second quarter, reducing outstanding shares, although $16.9 million of first-half stock compensation and uncounted restricted shares leave some dilution risk.

What could change the storySavings and volume recovery could unlock value; another profit cut would erase the bargain.

The strongest bull case is delivery of at least $70 million of 2026 savings, an improved insurer contract, and adjusted patient-volume growth within the guided 1.5% to 2.5% range. The bear case is concrete: second-quarter inpatient surgeries fell 7.5%, while physician-related professional fees rose 10.4%. The current valuation assumes roughly midpoint earnings can persist, not rapid growth. Evidence of durable cash generation without payment-timing benefits would strengthen the thesis; another earnings forecast cut or failed savings program would weaken it materially.

AI: News

Second-Quarter ResultsQuarterly profit fell sharply, but cash improved and the yearly operating target held.

On August 4, Ardent reported second-quarter net income of $17 million, down from $73 million a year earlier, while adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization fell 32.3%. Surgeries declined 2.9%, but operating cash flow increased 67% to $197 million. Management retained its $485 million to $535 million adjusted operating-earnings forecast while cutting expected net income to $110 million–$163 million. Shares rose 3.8% the following session; the timing is consistent with relief, but does not prove causation.

CEO Change and WarningA sudden leadership change and softer patient volumes sharply increased concern about execution.

On June 2, former operating chief Dave Caspers immediately replaced Marty Bonick as chief executive, while Ardent disclosed softer second-quarter patient volumes. The company retained its full-year adjusted operating-earnings forecast and accelerated its savings program. Shares closed 15.5% lower the next session on unusually heavy trading; contemporaneous reporting recorded a 14.4% morning decline. The disclosures likely contributed materially, although broader market weakness also occurred and price timing alone cannot establish cause.

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Revenue

2022

2023

2024

2025

Net income

2022

2023

2024

2025

Free cash flow

2022

2023

2024

2025

Total cash / debt

CashTotal debt

2022

2023

2024

2025

Financial statements

	2025	2024	2023	2022
Revenue	$6.32B	$5.97B	$5.41B	$5.13B
Operating expenses	$6.04B	$5.60B	$5.26B	$4.82B
Operating income	$286.4M	$363.1M	$151.6M	$311.5M
Operating margin	4.53%	6.09%	2.80%	6.07%
EBITDA	$442.1M	$509.3M	$292.5M	$449.7M
EBITDA margin	6.99%	8.54%	5.41%	8.77%
Net income	$135.8M	$210.3M	$53.9M	$188.9M
Net profit margin	2.15%	3.53%	1.00%	3.68%
Basic EPSper basic share	$0.96	$1.59	$0.43	$1.50
Diluted EPSper diluted share	$0.96	$1.58	$0.43	$1.50

Review official source filings ↗

Owners

Reported shareholders

Reference date Jun 30, 2026

54.43%of listed shares

CHAI TRUST CO LLC77.25M shares · Jun 30, 2026

View holders

Top 20 reported holders of ARDT
Holder	% owned
CHAI TRUST CO LLC	54.43%77.25M shares
Pure Health Medical Supplies LLC / Pure Health Holding PJSC / Pure Health Capital Americas 1 SPV RSC LTD / Pure Health Capital LLC	≈21.33%30.26M shares
Ventas, Inc.	6.58%9.34M shares
BlackRock, Inc.	1.53%2.18M shares
AMERIPRISE FINANCIAL INC	1.49%2.11M shares
GOLDENTREE ASSET MANAGEMENT LP	1.11%1.58M shares
AQR CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LLC	1.02%1.45M shares
Bonick Martin	≈1.01%1.44M shares
Petrovich Stephen C.	≈0.81%1.15M shares
CastleKnight Management LP	0.76%1.08M shares
VANGUARD CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LLC	0.68%963.83K shares
BRIDGEWAY CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLC	0.59%841.13K shares
GEODE CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLC	0.44%620.95K shares
ALGERT GLOBAL LLC	0.42%597.75K shares
STATE STREET CORP	0.40%566.21K shares
FIRST TRUST ADVISORS LP	0.40%562.28K shares
Empowered Funds, LLC	0.39%551.29K shares
SageView Advisory Group, LLC	0.34%480.45K shares
HOTCHKIS & WILEY CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LLC	0.31%444.9K shares
UBS Group AG	0.31%442.62K shares

Percentages use 141.91M shares of this listed class outstanding on Jun 30, 2026. ≈ compares the latest reported holding with a share total from a different date; it is not a confirmed current stake.

Gray completes the 100% scale. Reported positions may overlap; holders have different reporting dates.

Source: SEC Form 13F ↗Updated Sep 29, 2026 · Quarterly data

Insider buys & sells

Jul 1, 2024–Jun 30, 2026

Buys4$526.0K disclosed value

Sells (SEC code S)0$0.00 disclosed value

Transaction	Insider	Type	Shares	Price	Value	Owned after
Jun 5, 2026Form 4	DeMichiei RobertDirector	BuyCommon Stock	11.3K	$8.73	$98.3K	35.6K
Jun 5, 2026Form 4	LUMSDAINE ALFREDChief Financial Officer	BuyCommon Stock	10.0K	$8.81	$88.1K	329.2K
Nov 8, 2024Form 4	Webb Robert ThomasDirector	BuyCommon Stock	10.0K	$16.49	$164.9K	40.3K
Nov 8, 2024Form 4	Webb Robert ThomasDirector	BuyCommon Stock	10.0K	$17.47	$174.7K	30.3K

Review ownership filings at SEC.gov ↗

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Ardent Health, Inc. (ARDT)

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