Q1 EPS Estimates for HCA Healthcare Boosted by Analyst

HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) – Equities researchers at Leerink Partnrs raised their Q1 2025 earnings estimates for shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note issued to investors on Monday, October 28th. Leerink Partnrs analyst W. Mayo now anticipates that the company will post earnings per share of $6.08 for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $6.04. The consensus estimate for HCA Healthcare’s current full-year earnings is $22.48 per share.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on HCA. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $378.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $392.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $390.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $376.00 to $396.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on HCA Healthcare from $405.00 to $438.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, HCA Healthcare presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $379.11.

HCA Healthcare Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE HCA opened at $361.08 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $394.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $353.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 27.11. HCA Healthcare has a 52 week low of $223.73 and a 52 week high of $417.14. The firm has a market cap of $94.57 billion, a PE ratio of 18.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.67.

Institutional Trading of HCA Healthcare

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. CreativeOne Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 1st quarter worth approximately $231,000. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 51.2% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 7,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,543,000 after purchasing an additional 2,584 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in HCA Healthcare by 54.3% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 13,910 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,639,000 after buying an additional 4,893 shares during the period. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 1st quarter worth approximately $95,882,000. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 225,146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,335,000 after purchasing an additional 3,516 shares during the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at HCA Healthcare

In other news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 8,358 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,438,494.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is 13.16%.

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.