HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) Price Target Raised to $482.00 at Royal Bank Of Canada

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) had its price objective increased by Royal Bank Of Canada from $449.00 to $482.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. Royal Bank Of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $423.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Raymond James Financial set a $525.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Monday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of HCA Healthcare from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $400.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $400.00 to $485.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $471.42.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HCA opened at $468.68 on Monday. HCA Healthcare has a 52-week low of $289.98 and a 52-week high of $469.18. The company has a market capitalization of $109.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $416.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $383.23.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last issued its earnings results on Friday, October 24th. The company reported $6.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.64 by $1.32. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.53% and a negative return on equity of 792.25%. The business had revenue of $19.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.55 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.90 EPS. HCA Healthcare’s revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. HCA Healthcare has set its FY 2025 guidance at 27.000-28.000 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be given a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.13%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other HCA Healthcare news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 3,836 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $418.84, for a total value of $1,606,670.24. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 31,503 shares in the company, valued at $13,194,716.52. This trade represents a 10.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HCA Healthcare

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Cheviot Value Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the first quarter worth $26,000. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the first quarter worth $26,000. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the first quarter worth $27,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare in the second quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Chung Wu Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare in the second quarter valued at $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

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.