HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) Downgraded to Buy Rating by Wall Street Zen

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on HCA. Stephens raised their target price on HCA Healthcare from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. KeyCorp set a $503.00 price objective on HCA Healthcare in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on HCA Healthcare from $535.00 to $590.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of HCA Healthcare from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $452.00 to $481.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $523.27.

HCA Healthcare Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of HCA opened at $539.91 on Friday. HCA Healthcare has a 1-year low of $295.00 and a 1-year high of $552.90. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $482.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $448.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $120.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.36.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The company reported $8.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.37 by $0.64. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.97% and a negative return on equity of 409.11%. The business had revenue of $19.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.67 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.22 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. HCA Healthcare has set its FY 2026 guidance at 29.100-31.500 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that HCA Healthcare will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at HCA Healthcare

In other HCA Healthcare news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $498.09, for a total transaction of $747,135.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 30,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,944,194.27. This represents a 4.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 8,020 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $514.58, for a total transaction of $4,126,931.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 11,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,171,357.94. The trade was a 40.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 13,520 shares of company stock worth $6,894,067 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HCA Healthcare

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,021,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 11.9% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,859 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,334,000 after acquiring an additional 409 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its position in HCA Healthcare by 5.5% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 630 shares of the company’s stock worth $241,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the 2nd quarter valued at $221,000. Finally, Angeles Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 15.5% during the second quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 990 shares of the company’s stock valued at $379,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about HCA Healthcare

Here are the key news stories impacting HCA Healthcare this week:

• Positive Sentiment: HCA’s share performance is strong on a year‑over‑year basis (shares up ~75% YoY), reinforcing momentum and investor confidence in the company’s results and outlook. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks and other analysts highlight earnings growth and price strength; Zacks added HCA to focus coverage and raised FY‑2026 EPS estimates, supporting forward earnings momentum and valuation. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: HCA raised its quarterly dividend (new quarterly payout announced), which narrows yield risk and is a modest positive for income‑oriented investors. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Large institutional flows and stake increases (e.g., Norges Bank, Pacer, Viking Global) point to strong institutional demand and provide technical/supportive buying pressure for the stock. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: HCA completed a 43‑hospital EHR rollout and is tracking success metrics — operational execution that can improve efficiency and integration over time but has a gradual, not immediate, earnings impact. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Local expansion moves — HCA Houston Healthcare Tomball acquired Supreme Care ER and StoneSprings plans a freestanding ER conversion — small, market‑level capacity adds that could modestly lift volumes in those geographies. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: HCA sold ASC real estate — a financing/portfolio move that could free capital or change lease terms; impact depends on transaction use of proceeds. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: two senior VPs disclosed multi‑million dollar sales (Christopher Wyatt sold ~$2.0M; Jennifer Berres sold ~$4.13M). Significant insider sales can create short‑term selling pressure or raise governance/portfolio‑rebalancing questions. Read More. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks/other outlets flagged a downward revision to HCA’s Q1 EPS forecast, which can pressure near‑term expectations even as FY estimates were raised. Read More.

HCA Healthcare Company Profile

HCA Healthcare is a for‑profit operator of healthcare facilities headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1968, the company owns and operates a network of hospitals and related healthcare facilities and has grown through organic expansion and acquisitions to become a large provider of inpatient and outpatient services.

The company’s core activities include the operation of acute care hospitals, freestanding surgical and emergency centers, and outpatient clinics. HCA’s services encompass inpatient care, surgical services, emergency medicine, diagnostic imaging and laboratory testing, and various outpatient and ambulatory care offerings.