HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-three brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $462.6364.

HCA has been the topic of several recent research reports. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $520.00 to $485.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $535.00 to $495.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $450.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $396.00 to $393.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $525.00 to $475.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 28th.

Hedge Funds 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 position in HCA Healthcare in the fourth quarter worth about $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 worth $1,334,000 after acquiring an additional 409 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in HCA Healthcare in the second quarter worth $2,073,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 56.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 136,589 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,328,000 after buying an additional 49,214 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:HCA opened at $413.02 on Friday. HCA Healthcare has a 12 month low of $353.99 and a 12 month high of $556.52. The stock has a market cap of $89.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a 50 day moving average of $402.35 and a 200 day moving average of $439.62.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The company reported $7.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.56 by $0.03. HCA Healthcare had a negative return on equity of 244.79% and a net margin of 8.77%.The business had revenue of $20.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.76 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $6.84 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare will post 29.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 16th will be issued a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 16th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.45%.

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.