HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Short Interest Update

HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,940,000 shares, a drop of 16.1% from the February 28th total of 5,890,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,630,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.0 days. Currently, 2.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Insider Activity at HCA Healthcare

In related news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.59, for a total transaction of $3,075,250.47. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,971,757.08. This trade represents a 38.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of HCA Healthcare

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the third quarter valued at $39,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Tidemark LLC bought a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Activest Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1,250.0% during the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 135 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. grew its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HCA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $405.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Monday, January 27th. KeyCorp dropped their target price on HCA Healthcare from $420.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $430.00 to $390.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $392.00 to $366.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $405.00 to $384.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, HCA Healthcare currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $385.67.

HCA Healthcare Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of HCA traded up $1.75 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $347.48. 1,249,318 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,349,682. HCA Healthcare has a 52 week low of $289.98 and a 52 week high of $417.14. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $325.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $340.25. The company has a market cap of $85.55 billion, a PE ratio of 15.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 in the prior year, the business posted $5.90 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. This is a boost from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.11%.

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.