Moody's Investors Service assigned its "Baa3" rating to Cape Girardeau, Mo.-based Southeast Hospital's series 2016A and series 2016B revenue bonds, affecting $38.8 million of debt. The bonds were previously issued through the Industrial Development Authority of the County of Cape Girardeau and the Industrial Development Authority of Stoddard County. Southeast Hospital does business as SoutheastHealth.
Additionally, Moody's maintained the "Baa3" rating on SoutheastHealth's proposed $92.1 million series 2017A and series 2017B revenue bonds.
The assignment is a result of several factors, including SoutheastHealth's improved financial performance, reorganized debt structure, conservative capital spending and limited use of liquidity reserves. Moody's also acknowledged the hospital's steep competition, aging patient population and dependency on government payers.
The outlook is stable, reflecting Moody's expectation that SoutheastHealth will maintain stable financial performance and improve liquidity metrics.