HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) Hits New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday after Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on the stock from $485.00 to $525.00. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. HCA Healthcare traded as high as $469.18 and last traded at $468.6770, with a volume of 1789515 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $447.04.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on HCA. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $417.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $470.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $423.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Wolfe Research cut HCA Healthcare from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Stephens increased their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, HCA Healthcare currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $473.53.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other HCA Healthcare news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 3,836 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 31,503 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,194,716.52. This trade represents a 10.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of HCA Healthcare

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HCA. Cheviot Value Management LLC purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the second quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Chung Wu Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare in the second quarter valued at $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Trading Down 0.3%

The stock has a market capitalization of $109.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.40. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $417.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $384.15.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 24th. The company reported $6.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.64 by $1.32. The business had revenue of $19.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.55 billion. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.53% and a negative return on equity of 792.25%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.90 earnings per share. HCA Healthcare has set its FY 2025 guidance at 27.000-28.000 EPS. Research analysts predict that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 29th. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.13%.

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.