LifePoint Hospitals' Q2 disappoints Wall Street

Community hospital operator LifePoint Hospital has had a disappointing second quarter, with earnings falling 5 percent compared with the same period a year ago. Not surprisingly, the stock has taken a hit after earnings missed analyst estimates.

The investor-owned hospital chain reported a net income of $26.3 million, or 49 cents per diluted share, in the quarter ended June 30, versus $27.8 million, or 52 cent per diluted share, in the same period the previous year. Thing weren't helped by falling admissions, though revenue from outpatient business offset the drop in inpatient volume.

The drop took place despite revenue being up 10.4 percent, to $735.3 million for the quarter, up from the previous year's $665.7 million for the second quarter.

The real problem for LifePoint, from Wall Street's standpoint, was that excluding discontinued operations, the company earned 54 cents per share, below analysts' average estimated earnings of 59 cents per share on revenue of $720 million, according to reports in the Nashville Business Journal.

To learn more about LifePoint's results:
- read this Nashville Business Journal piece