HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) Releases Q2 2026 Earnings Guidance

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) updated its second quarter 2026 earnings guidance on Tuesday. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 7.590-7.590 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of 7.410. The company issued revenue guidance of $20.2 billion-$20.2 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $19.4 billion. HCA Healthcare also updated its FY 2026 guidance to 28.700-30.500 EPS.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on HCA Healthcare from $535.00 to $490.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $503.00 to $413.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Leerink Partners cut their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $573.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on HCA Healthcare from $593.00 to $534.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded HCA Healthcare from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $496.77.

HCA Healthcare Trading Down 3.9%

Shares of NYSE HCA opened at $390.81 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $86.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.12. HCA Healthcare has a twelve month low of $330.00 and a twelve month high of $556.52. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $396.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $459.73.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The company reported $7.15 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.19 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $19.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.09 billion. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.89% and a negative return on equity of 295.93%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.45 earnings per share. HCA Healthcare has set its FY 2026 guidance at 29.100-31.500 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that HCA Healthcare will post 30.07 earnings per share for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 16th were issued a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.73%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HCA Healthcare

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HCA. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,021,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 11.9% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted 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 valued at $241,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,073,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 56.3% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 136,589 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,328,000 after purchasing an additional 49,214 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

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.