HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $377.17.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $378.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $365.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays upped their price target on HCA Healthcare from $376.00 to $396.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Leerink Partners upped their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $367.00 to $396.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of HCA Healthcare from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 1st.

HCA Healthcare Trading Down 8.9 %

NYSE:HCA opened at $363.55 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $395.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $352.71. HCA Healthcare has a 12 month low of $220.55 and a 12 month high of $417.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $93.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.07, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 27.11.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is 12.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at HCA Healthcare

In other news, SVP Christopher F. Wyatt sold 4,000 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.20, for a total transaction of $1,440,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,569,729.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, SVP Kathleen M. Whalen sold 2,987 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $363.51, for a total value of $1,085,804.37. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,454 shares in the company, valued at $3,436,623.54. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Christopher F. Wyatt sold 4,000 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 40,449 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,569,729.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,345 shares of company stock worth $5,747,945 over the last three months. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of HCA Healthcare

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Oak Harvest Investment Services bought a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the third quarter valued at about $2,875,000. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $12,396,000. Hedeker Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 3.0% during the third quarter. Hedeker Wealth LLC now owns 11,263 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,577,000 after buying an additional 325 shares during the period. PBMares Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the third quarter worth $222,000. Finally, Integrated Advisors Network LLC raised its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 5,132 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,086,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

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.