HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) Cut to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday morning.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Leerink Partners increased their target price on HCA Healthcare from $507.00 to $573.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $430.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $525.00 to $588.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. KeyCorp set a $503.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, HCA Healthcare has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $523.27.

HCA Healthcare Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of HCA stock opened at $539.91 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $483.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $450.93. HCA Healthcare has a 12 month low of $295.00 and a 12 month high of $552.90. The company has a market cap of $120.73 billion, a PE ratio of 19.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.36.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The company reported $8.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $19.67 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $6.22 EPS. HCA Healthcare’s 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. As a group, equities analysts expect that HCA Healthcare will post 24.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be paid a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 17th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. This is a positive change from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is presently 10.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at HCA Healthcare

In other news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $498.09, for a total value of $747,135.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 30,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,944,194.27. The trade was a 4.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 8,020 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 11,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,171,357.94. This trade represents a 40.07% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 13,520 shares of company stock valued at $6,894,067. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of HCA Healthcare

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Palisade Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Clearstead Trust LLC grew its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 311.8% during the second quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 70 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 82.9% during the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 75 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About HCA Healthcare

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.