HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $391.27.

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on HCA Healthcare from $406.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. KeyCorp cut their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $475.00 to $420.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded HCA Healthcare from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $400.00 to $320.00 in a report on Monday, November 25th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $396.00 to $392.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $392.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st.

Insider Activity at HCA Healthcare

In related news, insider Erol R. Akdamar sold 2,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $353.00, for a total transaction of $1,023,700.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 6,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,415,579. This trade represents a 29.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Phillip G. Billington sold 3,897 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total transaction of $1,363,950.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 52,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,445,700. This represents a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FMR LLC lifted its stake in HCA Healthcare by 322.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,141,769 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,276,909,000 after purchasing an additional 2,397,883 shares during the last quarter. Darsana Capital Partners LP raised its stake in HCA Healthcare by 53.3% during the second quarter. Darsana Capital Partners LP now owns 1,150,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $369,472,000 after acquiring an additional 400,000 shares during the period. Meritage Group LP acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $150,548,000. Holocene Advisors LP lifted its stake in HCA Healthcare by 210.6% in the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 306,796 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,691,000 after buying an additional 208,015 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in HCA Healthcare by 11.7% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,669,721 shares of the company’s stock valued at $660,842,000 after purchasing an additional 174,946 shares during the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

NYSE HCA opened at $296.70 on Friday. HCA Healthcare has a fifty-two week low of $271.13 and a fifty-two week high of $417.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.64. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $326.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $354.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 48.71, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.12.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is 11.85%.

About HCA Healthcare

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.