HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) Lowered to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on HCA. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $310.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, July 28th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $305.00 to $325.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 11th. 1-800-FLOWERS.COM reiterated a maintains rating on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Wednesday, June 28th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $325.00 to $340.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 20th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $275.00 to $300.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $310.36.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

Shares of HCA stock opened at $260.93 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $278.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $273.76. The company has a market capitalization of $70.97 billion, a PE ratio of 12.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.60. HCA Healthcare has a 12 month low of $178.32 and a 12 month high of $304.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 79.26, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The company reported $4.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.28 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $15.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.63 billion. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 9.32% and a negative return on equity of 12,765.76%. The business’s revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.21 EPS. Analysts predict that HCA Healthcare will post 18.44 earnings per share for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 14th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.92%. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is currently 11.81%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Jeffrey E. Cohen sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.00, for a total value of $405,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,191,780. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Kathleen M. Whalen sold 2,916 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.00, for a total value of $787,320.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 10,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,767,500. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jeffrey E. Cohen sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.00, for a total transaction of $405,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,414 shares in the company, valued at $1,191,780. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 9,620 shares of company stock worth $2,592,820. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HCA Healthcare

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. RB Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 25.9% in the first quarter. RB Capital Management LLC now owns 2,432 shares of the company’s stock valued at $610,000 after buying an additional 501 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 18.6% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 11,035 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,766,000 after purchasing an additional 1,730 shares during the period. Prudential PLC acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare in the first quarter worth $1,083,000. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 1.3% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 4,499 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,128,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare in the first quarter worth $248,000. 62.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

HCA Healthcare Company Profile

HCA Healthcare, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides health care services 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.