HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) Research Coverage Started at KeyCorp

KeyCorp initiated coverage on shares of HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) in a report issued on Friday, Marketbeat reports. The firm issued an overweight rating and a $475.00 price objective on the stock. KeyCorp also issued estimates for HCA Healthcare’s FY2024 earnings at $22.18 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $25.35 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $28.13 EPS.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $345.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on HCA Healthcare from $378.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on HCA Healthcare in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. They issued an equal weight rating and a $427.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $315.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $376.00 to $396.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, HCA Healthcare has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $365.65.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HCA opened at $394.54 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $387.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $347.49. The firm has a market cap of $103.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.67. HCA Healthcare has a one year low of $215.96 and a one year high of $409.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 27.11, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.94.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $5.50 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.05 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.29 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare will post 22.51 EPS for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Christopher F. Wyatt sold 4,000 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.20, for a total value of $1,440,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 40,449 shares in the company, valued at $14,569,729.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, SVP Christopher F. Wyatt sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.20, for a total transaction of $1,440,800.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 40,449 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,569,729.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Kathleen M. Whalen sold 2,987 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $363.51, for a total value of $1,085,804.37. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,454 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,436,623.54. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 17,202 shares of company stock worth $6,407,273. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HCA Healthcare

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Bangor Savings Bank grew its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 112.5% in the second quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 85 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC lifted its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 284.0% during 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 during the period. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

About HCA Healthcare

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.