HCA Healthcare, Inc. Expected to Post Q1 2025 Earnings of $5.93 Per Share (NYSE:HCA)

HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) – Analysts at Zacks Research raised their Q1 2025 earnings estimates for HCA Healthcare in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, September 5th. Zacks Research analyst Z. Masood now forecasts that the company will earn $5.93 per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $5.82. The consensus estimate for HCA Healthcare’s current full-year earnings is $22.50 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for HCA Healthcare’s Q2 2025 earnings at $6.14 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $6.89 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $24.74 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $6.50 EPS and Q2 2026 earnings at $6.58 EPS.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of HCA Healthcare from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 1st. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on HCA Healthcare in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $396.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $327.00 to $332.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Leerink Partners raised their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $367.00 to $396.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on HCA Healthcare in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $427.00 price objective on the stock. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $359.89.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

Shares of HCA Healthcare stock opened at $387.98 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $101.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.67. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $355.43 and its 200-day moving average is $336.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 27.11, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.94. HCA Healthcare has a one year low of $215.96 and a one year high of $403.05.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $5.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.53. HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 553.13% and a net margin of 8.40%. The firm had revenue of $17.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.05 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.29 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.68%. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Kathleen M. Whalen sold 2,987 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $363.51, for a total transaction of $1,085,804.37. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,454 shares in the company, valued at $3,436,623.54. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, SVP Kathleen M. Whalen sold 2,987 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $363.51, for a total transaction of $1,085,804.37. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,436,623.54. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 1,857 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.05, for a total transaction of $659,327.85. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 17,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,303,912.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 8,844 shares of company stock valued at $3,185,932. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fisher Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the fourth quarter worth about $269,000. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. bought a new position in HCA Healthcare during the fourth quarter valued at $54,000. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter valued at $303,000. AlphaStar Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 27.4% in the 4th quarter. AlphaStar Capital Management LLC now owns 3,854 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,043,000 after acquiring an additional 829 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its position in HCA Healthcare by 354.3% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 13,274 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,593,000 after purchasing an additional 10,352 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.