HCA Healthcare Q4 EPS Estimate Raised by Leerink Partnrs

HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) – Equities researchers at Leerink Partnrs lifted their Q4 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report issued to clients and investors on Sunday, July 27th. Leerink Partnrs analyst W. Mayo now forecasts that the company will post earnings per share of $7.52 for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $7.01. The consensus estimate for HCA Healthcare’s current full-year earnings is $24.98 per share. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for HCA Healthcare’s Q1 2026 earnings at $6.51 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $6.81 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $5.86 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $7.54 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $26.72 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $30.16 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $34.98 EPS.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $336.00 price objective (down from $396.00) on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Wolfe Research downgraded HCA Healthcare from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday. Baird R W lowered HCA Healthcare from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $401.00 target price on HCA Healthcare and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on HCA Healthcare from $410.00 to $400.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, HCA Healthcare has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $396.46.

HCA Healthcare Stock Up 3.1%

Shares of HCA stock opened at $355.16 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $371.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $346.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.98. HCA Healthcare has a twelve month low of $289.98 and a twelve month high of $417.14. The company has a market capitalization of $85.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.93, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.47.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The company reported $6.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.20 by $0.64. HCA Healthcare had a negative return on equity of 7,363.11% and a net margin of 8.21%. The company had revenue of $18.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.49 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.50 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis.

Institutional Trading of HCA Healthcare

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter valued at $1,021,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in HCA Healthcare by 36.9% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 31,962 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,593,000 after purchasing an additional 8,623 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC raised its position in HCA Healthcare by 21.2% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 61,581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,484,000 after purchasing an additional 10,777 shares during the last quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in HCA Healthcare by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,867 shares of the company’s stock valued at $560,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System raised its position in HCA Healthcare by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 353,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $106,164,000 after purchasing an additional 9,015 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Jon M. Foster sold 15,698 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $369.32, for a total value of $5,797,585.36. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 12,646 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,670,420.72. The trade was a 55.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is 12.11%.

HCA Healthcare Company Profile

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.