HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) Coverage Initiated at Guggenheim

Analysts at Guggenheim initiated coverage on shares of HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage set a “neutral” rating on the stock.

HCA has been the subject of a number of other reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $405.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $380.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $430.00 to $390.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $406.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, HCA Healthcare currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $385.67.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

Shares of HCA opened at $335.35 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $82.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.26, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.48. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $327.57 and a 200-day moving average of $337.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07. HCA Healthcare has a 52 week low of $289.98 and a 52 week high of $417.14.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.03 by $0.19. HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 586.47% and a net margin of 8.16%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.90 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare will post 24.98 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.59, for a total value of $3,075,250.47. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,412 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,971,757.08. The trade was a 38.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of HCA Healthcare

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HCA. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Tidemark LLC acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Activest Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1,250.0% during the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. grew its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 150 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank bought a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter worth approximately $62,000. 62.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.