Wells Fargo & Company Increases HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) Price Target to $365.00

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) had its price target upped by Wells Fargo & Company from $315.00 to $365.00 in a research note released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on HCA. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $359.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $375.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of HCA Healthcare from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report on Monday, July 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an overweight rating and set a $335.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $329.00 to $378.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $344.06.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

NYSE:HCA opened at $356.45 on Tuesday. HCA Healthcare has a fifty-two week low of $215.96 and a fifty-two week high of $369.41. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $334.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $324.85. The company has a market cap of $91.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 27.11.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $5.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.53. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.40% and a return on equity of 553.13%. The company had revenue of $17.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.29 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that HCA Healthcare will post 22.43 EPS for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is 13.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at HCA Healthcare

In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Kathleen M. Whalen sold 2,987 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $363.51, for a total transaction of $1,085,804.37. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,436,623.54. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Kathleen M. Whalen sold 2,987 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $363.51, for a total transaction of $1,085,804.37. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,436,623.54. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 1,600 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.00, for a total transaction of $494,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 34,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,544,316. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 20,268 shares of company stock valued at $6,804,285. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HCA Healthcare

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Bangor Savings Bank increased its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 112.5% in the second quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 85 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC increased its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 284.0% in the second quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 96 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

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.