HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) Reaches New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday after Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on the stock from $378.00 to $405.00. Royal Bank of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the stock. HCA Healthcare traded as high as $389.87 and last traded at $389.00, with a volume of 86191 shares. The stock had previously closed at $388.78.

HCA has been the topic of a number of other research reports. TD Cowen reduced their target price on HCA Healthcare from $371.00 to $360.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. StockNews.com raised shares of HCA Healthcare from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 1st. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $396.00 price target on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $359.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $315.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $356.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 1,857 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.05, for a total value of $659,327.85. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 17,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,303,912.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 1,857 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.05, for a total value of $659,327.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 17,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,303,912.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Kathleen M. Whalen sold 2,987 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $363.51, for a total transaction of $1,085,804.37. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,436,623.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 8,844 shares of company stock worth $3,185,932 over the last 90 days. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 2nd quarter valued at $275,000. Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the second quarter valued at about $733,000. Advisory Alpha LLC grew its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 55.8% during the second quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 949 shares of the company’s stock worth $305,000 after buying an additional 340 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp lifted its position in HCA Healthcare by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 368,947 shares of the company’s stock worth $118,535,000 after acquiring an additional 5,522 shares during the period. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1.6% during the second quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 225,146 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,335,000 after purchasing an additional 3,516 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Trading Up 0.4 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $102.19 billion, a PE ratio of 19.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 27.11, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.06. The business’s 50-day moving average is $345.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $331.43.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $5.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.53. The firm had revenue of $17.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.05 billion. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.40% and a return on equity of 553.13%. The firm’s revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.29 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 22.43 earnings per share for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.16%.

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.