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

HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eighteen research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation, twelve have given a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $385.67.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $390.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $405.00 to $384.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered HCA Healthcare from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $400.00 to $320.00 in a research report on Monday, November 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $380.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective 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, December 17th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Phillip G. Billington sold 3,897 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total transaction of $1,363,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 52,702 shares in the company, valued at $18,445,700. The trade was a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Erol R. Akdamar sold 2,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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. This trade represents a 29.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HCA Healthcare

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the third quarter worth approximately $39,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter valued at $41,000. Canoe Financial LP acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare in the third quarter valued at about $41,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in HCA Healthcare in the third quarter valued at approximately $44,000. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

HCA Healthcare Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of HCA opened at $336.93 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07. HCA Healthcare has a 12-month low of $289.98 and a 12-month high of $417.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.34 billion, a PE ratio of 15.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.64. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $313.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $353.69.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.03 by $0.19. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.16% and a return on equity of 586.47%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.90 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that HCA Healthcare will post 24.89 earnings per share for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This is a positive change from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is currently 12.02%.

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.