HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Short Interest Up 9.6% in October

HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,510,000 shares, an increase of 9.6% from the October 15th total of 2,290,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,250,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.0 days. Approximately 1.3% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Raymond James lowered their price target on HCA Healthcare from $320.00 to $280.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 25th. Credit Suisse Group lifted their price target on HCA Healthcare from $311.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on HCA Healthcare from $345.00 to $294.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 10th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $324.00 to $279.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 25th. Finally, TheStreet lowered HCA Healthcare from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $296.59.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HCA. Stone House Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 92.9% during the 3rd quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC now owns 108 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

Shares of HCA Healthcare stock opened at $246.38 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 103.06. HCA Healthcare has a twelve month low of $215.96 and a twelve month high of $304.86. The firm has a market cap of $65.95 billion, a PE ratio of 12.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.66. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $242.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $266.60.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 24th. The company reported $3.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.97 by ($0.06). HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 2,040.32% and a net margin of 9.05%. The firm had revenue of $16.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.77 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that HCA Healthcare will post 18.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 14th will be issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 13th. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is 11.81%.

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.