HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) Cut to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen cut their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $450.00 to $440.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 28th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $378.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $427.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial raised their target price on HCA Healthcare from $390.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on HCA Healthcare from $365.00 to $395.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $379.39.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

HCA Healthcare stock opened at $356.03 on Monday. HCA Healthcare has a 52 week low of $226.48 and a 52 week high of $417.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 48.71, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.68. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $391.18 and a 200-day moving average of $355.72.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is 11.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at HCA Healthcare

In related news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 8,358 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,438,494.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. NorthRock Partners LLC boosted its position in HCA Healthcare by 17.4% during the first quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 1,310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $437,000 after buying an additional 194 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC bought a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the first quarter valued at approximately $597,000. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 14.5% in the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 3,980 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,327,000 after purchasing an additional 503 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in HCA Healthcare by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 13,775 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,594,000 after buying an additional 987 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Counselors Inc. raised its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1.4% during the first quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 2,642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $881,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.