HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) Sets New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $411.87 and last traded at $407.22, with a volume of 260978 shares. The stock had previously closed at $395.78.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on HCA. Wolfe Research upgraded HCA Healthcare to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on HCA Healthcare in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $427.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $315.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $390.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Leerink Partners upped their target price on HCA Healthcare from $367.00 to $396.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $365.65.

HCA Healthcare Stock Up 2.0 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 27.11, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.06. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $390.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $349.03. The company has a market cap of $107.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.67.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $17.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.05 billion. HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 553.13% and a net margin of 8.40%. HCA Healthcare’s revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.29 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 22.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Christopher F. Wyatt sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,569,729.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Christopher F. Wyatt sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.20, for a total transaction of $1,440,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,449 shares of the company’s stock, 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, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 8,358 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $385.42, for a total value of $3,221,340.36. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,678 shares in the company, valued at $11,438,494.76. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 17,202 shares of company stock worth $6,407,273. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HCA. Bangor Savings Bank boosted 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 worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in HCA Healthcare in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the second quarter valued at about $28,000. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC boosted 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 valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.