Hennessy Advisors Inc. Has $3.26 Million Position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. $HCA

Hennessy Advisors Inc. lowered its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 2.3% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,500 shares of the company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $3,256,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cheviot Value Management LLC bought a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare in the first quarter worth about $26,000. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare in the first quarter worth about $27,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Atwood & Palmer Inc. acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare in the first quarter worth about $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

HCA opened at $429.52 on Friday. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a one year low of $289.98 and a one year high of $432.36. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $397.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $372.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.40.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The company reported $6.84 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.20 by $0.64. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.21% and a negative return on equity of 7,363.11%. The business had revenue of $18.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.50 earnings per share. HCA Healthcare’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. HCA Healthcare has set its FY 2025 guidance at 25.500-27.000 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th were paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $375.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Wolfe Research cut shares of HCA Healthcare from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $390.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $423.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, HCA Healthcare has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $407.75.

Insider Transactions at HCA Healthcare

In other HCA Healthcare news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 3,836 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $418.84, for a total value of $1,606,670.24. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 31,503 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,194,716.52. This trade represents a 10.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare 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.