HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) Reaches New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $421.04 and last traded at $421.22, with a volume of 271792 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $414.89.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wolfe Research cut shares of HCA Healthcare from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on HCA Healthcare from $410.00 to $400.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on HCA Healthcare from $385.00 to $375.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $375.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $390.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $407.75.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $98.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.64, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $389.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $369.17.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The company reported $6.84 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.20 by $0.64. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.21% and a negative return on equity of 7,363.11%. The firm had revenue of $18.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.50 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. HCA Healthcare has set its FY 2025 guidance at 25.500-27.000 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.11%.

Insider Transactions at HCA Healthcare

In related news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 3,836 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $418.84, for a total transaction of $1,606,670.24. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 31,503 shares in the company, valued at $13,194,716.52. This represents a 10.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. ORG Partners LLC increased its stake in HCA Healthcare by 27.9% during the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 142 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 8,077 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,791,000 after buying an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Glenview Trust co lifted its stake in HCA Healthcare by 2.3% in the first quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 1,451 shares of the company’s stock valued at $501,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 3,175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,097,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 5.5% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $241,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by 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.