HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-three ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $487.00.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on HCA shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $485.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Stephens boosted their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Zacks Research cut shares of HCA Healthcare from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $482.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $495.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other HCA Healthcare news, EVP Michael R. Mcalevey sold 3,892 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.79, for a total transaction of $1,843,990.68. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 3,487 shares in the company, valued at $1,652,105.73. This represents a 52.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of HCA Healthcare

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HCA. Palisade Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the second quarter worth $27,000. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC bought a new position in HCA Healthcare in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Clearstead Trust LLC increased its position 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 buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Finally, Holos Integrated Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HCA opened at $465.58 on Thursday. HCA Healthcare has a fifty-two week low of $295.00 and a fifty-two week high of $520.00. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $480.55 and a 200-day moving average of $432.66. The stock has a market cap of $106.24 billion, a PE ratio of 18.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.36.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 24th. The company reported $6.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.64 by $1.32. The firm had revenue of $19.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.55 billion. HCA Healthcare had a negative return on equity of 792.25% and a net margin of 8.53%.The company’s revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.90 earnings per share. HCA Healthcare has set its FY 2025 guidance at 27.000-28.000 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that HCA Healthcare 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 Monday, December 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is 11.13%.

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.