HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) Stock Price Down 3%

HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)’s share price traded down 3% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $253.75 and last traded at $255.69. 389,665 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 69% from the average session volume of 1,265,396 shares. The stock had previously closed at $263.58.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $315.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Wednesday. VNET Group reissued a “maintains” rating on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Wednesday, June 28th. 1-800-FLOWERS.COM reissued a “maintains” rating on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Wednesday, June 28th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $310.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 28th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of HCA Healthcare from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $310.86.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 79.26, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.20. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $276.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $273.88. The firm has a market cap of $69.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.61, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.60.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 27th. The company reported $4.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.28 by $0.01. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 9.32% and a negative return on equity of 12,765.76%. The business had revenue of $15.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.63 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.21 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 18.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 14th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.94%. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is 11.81%.

Insider Buying and Selling at HCA Healthcare

In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Jeffrey E. Cohen sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.00, for a total transaction of $405,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,191,780. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 5,204 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.12, for a total value of $1,400,500.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,760 shares in the company, valued at $5,317,811.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,191,780. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 9,620 shares of company stock valued at $2,592,820. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of HCA Healthcare

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. James Investment Research Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. Concord Wealth Partners lifted its stake in HCA Healthcare by 54.1% in the first quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 151 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. BDO Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in HCA Healthcare by 60.0% in the second quarter. BDO Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 160 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in HCA Healthcare by 122.7% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WASHINGTON TRUST Co lifted its stake in HCA Healthcare by 100.0% in the second quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 180 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About HCA Healthcare

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.