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

Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a hold recommendation, eleven have assigned a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $385.63.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. KeyCorp decreased their target price on HCA Healthcare from $475.00 to $420.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $406.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Wolfe Research raised shares of HCA Healthcare to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $396.00 to $392.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of HCA Healthcare from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $400.00 to $320.00 in a research report on Monday, November 25th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Trading of HCA Healthcare

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HCA. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the second quarter valued at $27,000. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the second quarter valued at about $28,000. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the third quarter valued at $39,000. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

HCA opened at $307.74 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 48.71, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The company has a market capitalization of $77.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.63. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $352.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $358.35. HCA Healthcare has a 1 year low of $263.22 and a 1 year high of $417.14.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is 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.