HCA Healthcare, Inc. $HCA Stock: Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Lowers Stake

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lessened its holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 18,112 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,053 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $7,729,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 171.7% in the 1st quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 6,242 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,954,000 after acquiring an additional 3,945 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in HCA Healthcare by 27.5% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 467,796 shares of the company’s stock worth $221,380,000 after acquiring an additional 100,764 shares during the last quarter. SEB Asset Management AB bought a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the first quarter worth approximately $75,534,000. Darsana Capital Partners LP raised its position in HCA Healthcare by 46.7% during the second quarter. Darsana Capital Partners LP now owns 1,100,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $428,879,000 after purchasing an additional 350,000 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $238,457,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about HCA Healthcare

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

• Positive Sentiment: Hospitals and health insurers rallied after Democrats’ midterm gains, a sector-wide move that likely helped lift HCA. The coverage does not specify which policy changes investors expect. Article: Health insurers, hospitals rally after sweeping midterm win for Democrats
• Positive Sentiment: HCA’s quarterly results beat expectations: adjusted earnings were $7.22 per share versus a $6.65 consensus estimate, and revenue was $19.85 billion versus $19.33 billion. Revenue grew 3.6% year over year. Article: Why HCA Healthcare is a top growth stock for the long term
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo raised its price target on HCA, while Truist reaffirmed its Buy rating and lifted its target to $510 from $495. These moves signal continued analyst support. Article: HCA Healthcare stock gets price target boost from Wells Fargo Article: Truist reaffirms Buy rating
• Positive Sentiment: HCA Houston Healthcare Northwest introduced next-generation robotic-assisted surgical technology, which may strengthen its service offering and competitive position. Article: HCA Houston Healthcare Northwest introduces robotic-assisted surgical technology
• Neutral Sentiment: HCA is planning a $300 million hospital in Cape Coral, with $31 million in city incentives. The project supports expansion, though its investment and execution costs may take time to translate into returns. Article: Cape Coral lands $300 million HCA hospital
• Neutral Sentiment: HCA launched a senior-notes offering; the article listing does not provide details on terms or intended use of proceeds, so the effect on leverage is unclear. Article: HCA Healthcare launches senior notes offering
• Negative Sentiment: Uninsured-patient costs reportedly shifted by $400 million in HCA’s third-quarter payer mix, a potential headwind to profitability. Article: HCA Q3 revenue by payer as uninsured shift costs $400M
• Negative Sentiment: Reports of data breaches involving HCA raise potential privacy, regulatory, and reputational concerns; the article listing does not specify the impact. Article: Data breaches announced by HCA Healthcare
• Negative Sentiment: A law firm announced an investigation into claims on behalf of HCA investors. An investigation is not a finding of wrongdoing, but it can create legal and reputational uncertainty. Article: Pomerantz investigates claims on behalf of HCA investors

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho set a $495.00 target price on HCA Healthcare in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $495.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $635.00 to $579.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $393.00 to $409.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $480.13.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

HCA opened at $510.31 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $440.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $444.90. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a one year low of $353.99 and a one year high of $556.52. The stock has a market cap of $106.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.11.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The company reported $7.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.65 by $0.57. The company had revenue of $19.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.33 billion. HCA Healthcare had a negative return on equity of 198.52% and a net margin of 8.61%. HCA Healthcare’s revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.96 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 30.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 29th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 15th. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is currently 10.34%.

HCA Healthcare Profile

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.