Despite being the third quarter in a row to register more downgrades than upgrades in the not-for-profit healthcare sector, the majority of rating activity in the second quarter of this year took the form of affirmations, also continuing a longstanding trend, says Moody's Investors Service in a quarterly report on industry rating activity.
It was the third consecutive quarter in which downgrades well surpassed upgrades—17 to 4—resulting in a wide 4.3 to 1 margin, compared to 19 to 5 (3.8 to 1 margin) in the first quarter of 2009. This is a contrast with the second quarter of 2008 when the number of downgrades equaled the number of upgrades with 10 each.
Moody's Public Finance Group affirmed 86 ratings in the second quarter 2009 in the not-for-profit healthcare sector, representing a high 80% of total rating actions and affecting approximately $41 million of debt, on par with 86 rating affirmations—81% of total rating actions—in the second quarter 2008, reports the rating agency.
