HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) Price Target Raised to $470.00

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) had its price target hoisted by Bank of America from $430.00 to $470.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on HCA. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $490.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $400.00 to $485.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Truist Financial increased their target price on HCA Healthcare from $460.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Raymond James Financial set a $525.00 price target on HCA Healthcare in a research note on Monday. Finally, Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Monday. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $473.53.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

Shares of HCA opened at $468.21 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $418.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $385.09. The company has a market capitalization of $109.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.10, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.40. HCA Healthcare has a 1 year low of $289.98 and a 1 year high of $475.38.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. HCA Healthcare had a negative return on equity of 792.25% and a net margin of 8.53%.The business had revenue of $19.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.55 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.90 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. HCA Healthcare has set its FY 2025 guidance at 27.000-28.000 EPS. Equities analysts expect that HCA Healthcare will post 24.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 29th. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is 11.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling at HCA Healthcare

In other news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 3,836 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $418.84, for a total transaction of $1,606,670.24. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 31,503 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,194,716.52. The trade was a 10.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HCA Healthcare

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the second quarter worth $1,152,408,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 1st quarter valued at about $569,217,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 6,237.9% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,350,933 shares of the company’s stock valued at $466,815,000 after buying an additional 1,329,618 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 83.4% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,399,372 shares of the company’s stock worth $829,104,000 after buying an additional 1,091,416 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Viking Global Investors LP increased its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 58.5% in the 2nd quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 1,872,133 shares of the company’s stock valued at $717,214,000 after acquiring an additional 690,773 shares during the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is currently 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.