HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-five ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $473.5263.

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on HCA shares. Stephens increased their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $417.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $375.00 to $412.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $425.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Monday.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

Shares of HCA Healthcare stock opened at $460.11 on Friday. HCA Healthcare has a 52-week low of $289.98 and a 52-week high of $478.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $107.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a fifty day moving average of $421.11 and a 200-day moving average of $386.49.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 24th. The company reported $6.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $19.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.55 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.90 EPS. The firm’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. On average, equities research analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at HCA Healthcare

In other news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 3,836 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 31,503 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,194,716.52. This trade represents a 10.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC bought a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Clearstead Trust LLC increased its stake in HCA Healthcare by 311.8% during the 2nd quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 70 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Cheviot Value Management LLC bought a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Saudi Central Bank bought a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.