HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eighteen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation, twelve have assigned a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $382.19.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on HCA. Barclays dropped their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $392.00 to $366.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $430.00 to $390.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on HCA Healthcare from $406.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on HCA Healthcare from $450.00 to $440.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of HCA Healthcare from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Phillip G. Billington sold 3,897 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total value of $1,363,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 52,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,445,700. The trade was a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Erol R. Akdamar sold 2,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $353.00, for a total value of $1,023,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 6,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,415,579. The trade was a 29.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HCA Healthcare

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Terra Nova Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 0.3% in the third quarter. Terra Nova Asset Management LLC now owns 8,112 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,297,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its position in HCA Healthcare by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 421 shares of the company’s stock valued at $171,000 after buying an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1.8% during the third quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,681 shares of the company’s stock worth $683,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management boosted its stake in HCA Healthcare by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 4,065 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,652,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in HCA Healthcare by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,301 shares of the company’s stock valued at $529,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

HCA opened at $327.80 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $313.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $353.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.72, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.64. HCA Healthcare has a 12-month low of $289.98 and a 12-month high of $417.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 48.71.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.03 by $0.19. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.52% and a return on equity of 520.98%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.90 EPS. Equities analysts predict that HCA Healthcare will post 21.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. This is a boost from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.85%.

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.