HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $429.75 and last traded at $431.77, with a volume of 50647 shares. The stock had previously closed at $426.69.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on HCA. Wall Street Zen raised shares of HCA Healthcare from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $375.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Wolfe Research cut shares of HCA Healthcare from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $390.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, HCA Healthcare presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $407.75.

HCA Healthcare Stock Up 0.7%

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $397.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $372.65. The firm has a market cap of $100.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.40.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The company reported $6.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.20 by $0.64. The business had revenue of $18.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.49 billion. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.21% and a negative return on equity of 7,363.11%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.50 earnings per share. HCA Healthcare has set its FY 2025 guidance at 25.500-27.000 EPS. Analysts predict that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th were given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is presently 12.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 3,836 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 31,503 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,194,716.52. The trade was a 10.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HCA Healthcare

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in HCA Healthcare by 52.7% during the third quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,120,000 after purchasing an additional 907 shares during the period. First Citizens Financial Corp purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare during the third quarter worth about $253,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in HCA Healthcare by 10.6% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,587 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,529,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the period. Park National Corp OH raised its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 28,854 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,298,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares during the period. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 40,554 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,536,000 after acquiring an additional 1,856 shares during the period. 62.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.