HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) Price Target Increased to $367.00 by Analysts at Barclays

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) had its price target upped by research analysts at Barclays from $356.00 to $367.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Barclays‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 18.44% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of HCA Healthcare from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $277.00 to $301.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $322.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $330.00 to $359.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, HCA Healthcare currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $313.88.

HCA Healthcare Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:HCA traded up $3.18 during trading on Monday, reaching $309.87. The stock had a trading volume of 549,018 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,100,980. The company has a market capitalization of $81.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.52, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.26. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $323.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $295.45. HCA Healthcare has a one year low of $215.96 and a one year high of $335.83.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $5.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.01 by $0.35. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.20% and a return on equity of 674.49%. The business had revenue of $17.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.93 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that HCA Healthcare will post 20.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, January 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $6.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at HCA Healthcare

In other news, SVP Chad J. Wasserman sold 652 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $312.04, for a total transaction of $203,450.08. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 290 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $90,491.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Chad J. Wasserman sold 652 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $312.04, for a total transaction of $203,450.08. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 290 shares in the company, valued at $90,491.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Chad J. Wasserman sold 344 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $321.97, for a total transaction of $110,757.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,452 shares in the company, valued at $789,470.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 14,840 shares of company stock valued at $4,588,869. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HCA Healthcare

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Stone House Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Centerpoint Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.