HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) Shares Down 5.1% – Here’s What Happened

HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)’s stock price traded down 5.1% during trading on Tuesday. The company traded as low as $445.01 and last traded at $441.3480. Approximately 760,273 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 43% from the average daily volume of 1,330,525 shares. The stock had previously closed at $465.26.

HCA Healthcare News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting HCA Healthcare this week:

• Positive Sentiment: HCA reported third-quarter adjusted earnings of $7.22 per share, above the roughly $6.65-$6.74 analyst consensus, while revenue of $19.85 billion also exceeded expectations and increased 3.6% year over year. Higher admissions and emergency-room visits supported results. HCA Healthcare beats quarterly profit estimates
• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen raised its price target from $460 to $486 and assigned a “buy” rating, while KeyCorp lifted its target from $435 to $490 with an “overweight” rating. These revisions indicate that some analysts view the selloff as excessive and see upside if operating trends stabilize.
• Positive Sentiment: HCA maintained its current-year outlook and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.78 per share, equivalent to $3.12 annually and a yield of approximately 0.7% at the referenced share price. HCA Healthcare posts solid Q3 results

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $558.00 to $485.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Leerink Partners reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $492.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Friday, September 18th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $635.00 to $579.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $450.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $474.61.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $100.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $434.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $444.88.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The company reported $7.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.65 by $0.57. The business had revenue of $19.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.33 billion. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.77% and a negative return on equity of 244.79%. HCA Healthcare’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $6.96 EPS. Equities analysts predict that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 29.51 EPS for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 15th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.45%.

Institutional Trading of HCA Healthcare

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the first quarter worth about $33,000. MidFirst Bank purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Clearstead Trust LLC bought a new position in HCA Healthcare in the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Latitude Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Delos Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare in the second quarter worth $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

About HCA Healthcare

HCA Healthcare, Inc is a healthcare services company that operates hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, emergency care facilities, physician practices and other healthcare sites. Its facilities provide a broad range of services, including acute and emergency care, surgery, cardiology, oncology, women’s and children’s services, behavioral health and outpatient care.

The company serves patients primarily across the United States through a network of healthcare facilities in numerous states.