HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Receives $359.89 Average PT from Analysts

HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, fourteen have issued a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $359.89.

Several equities analysts have issued reports on HCA shares. Leerink Partners upped their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $367.00 to $396.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Barclays upped their price target on HCA Healthcare from $376.00 to $396.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of HCA Healthcare to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $392.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of HCA Healthcare from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 1st.

HCA Healthcare Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of HCA opened at $403.28 on Friday. HCA Healthcare has a 1 year low of $215.96 and a 1 year high of $409.42. The firm has a market cap of $105.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.67. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $378.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $343.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 27.11, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.94.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $5.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.53. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.40% and a return on equity of 553.13%. The company had revenue of $17.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.29 earnings per share. HCA Healthcare’s revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare will post 22.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.16%.

Insider Transactions at HCA Healthcare

In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Christopher F. Wyatt sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.20, for a total value of $1,440,800.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 40,449 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,569,729.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 8,358 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $385.42, for a total value of $3,221,340.36. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 29,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,438,494.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Christopher F. Wyatt sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.20, for a total transaction of $1,440,800.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 40,449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,569,729.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 17,202 shares of company stock worth $6,407,273 over the last quarter. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HCA Healthcare

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Bangor Savings Bank boosted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 112.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 85 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC increased its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 284.0% during the second quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 96 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LifeSteps Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. 62.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

HCA Healthcare Company Profile

HCA Healthcare, Inc, through its subsidiaries, owns and operates hospitals and related healthcare entities in the United States. It operates general and acute care hospitals that offers medical and surgical services, including inpatient care, intensive care, cardiac care, diagnostic, and emergency services; and outpatient services, such as outpatient surgery, laboratory, radiology, respiratory therapy, cardiology, and physical therapy.