HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) Sets New 1-Year High Following Analyst Upgrade

HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $412.00 to $431.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. HCA Healthcare traded as high as $479.43 and last traded at $474.08, with a volume of 1411770 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $462.31.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on HCA. Barclays upped their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $445.00 to $494.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $490.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded HCA Healthcare from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 25th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $485.00 to $525.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price target on HCA Healthcare from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $474.53.

Insider Transactions at HCA Healthcare

In related news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 3,836 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $418.84, for a total transaction of $1,606,670.24. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 31,503 shares in the company, valued at $13,194,716.52. This represents a 10.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael R. Mcalevey sold 3,892 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.79, for a total value of $1,843,990.68. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 3,487 shares in the company, valued at $1,652,105.73. The trade was a 52.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HCA. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC bought a new position in HCA Healthcare in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Clearstead Trust LLC raised its position in HCA Healthcare by 311.8% in the 2nd quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 70 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Cheviot Value Management LLC bought a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Saudi Central Bank bought a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $107.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.26, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.41. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $433.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $396.06.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 24th. The company reported $6.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.64 by $1.32. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.53% and a negative return on equity of 792.25%. The firm had revenue of $19.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.55 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.90 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. HCA Healthcare has set its FY 2025 guidance at 27.000-28.000 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be given a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is 11.13%.

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.