FY2027 EPS Estimates for HCA Healthcare Boosted by Analyst

HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) - Equities research analysts at Leerink Partnrs lifted their FY2027 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of HCA Healthcare in a report issued on Monday, January 27th. Leerink Partnrs analyst W. Mayo now forecasts that the company will post earnings per share of $32.55 for the year, up from their prior forecast of $30.68. The consensus estimate for HCA Healthcare's current full-year earnings is $21.75 per share.

HCA has been the topic of a number of other research reports. KeyCorp dropped their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $420.00 to $370.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com downgraded HCA Healthcare from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $450.00 to $440.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 28th. Barclays cut their target price on HCA Healthcare from $392.00 to $366.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $430.00 to $390.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $382.19.

HCA Healthcare Stock Down 0.5 %

HCA stock traded down $1.76 on Wednesday, reaching $326.94. 389,685 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,740,308. HCA Healthcare has a one year low of $289.98 and a one year high of $417.14. The company has a market cap of $82.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.64. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $313.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $353.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 48.71, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.03 by $0.19. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.52% and a return on equity of 520.98%. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.90 earnings per share.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. This is a boost from HCA Healthcare's previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. HCA Healthcare's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other HCA Healthcare news, insider Erol R. Akdamar sold 2,900 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $353.00, for a total value of $1,023,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 6,843 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,415,579. The trade was a 29.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Phillip G. Billington sold 3,897 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total value of $1,363,950.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 52,702 shares in the company, valued at $18,445,700. This represents a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HCA Healthcare

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC grew its position in HCA Healthcare by 322.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,141,769 shares of the company's stock worth $1,276,909,000 after acquiring an additional 2,397,883 shares during the period. Meritage Group LP acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the 3rd quarter valued at about $150,548,000. Canoe Financial LP raised its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 226,952.9% in the fourth quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 231,594 shares of the company's stock valued at $69,513,000 after acquiring an additional 231,492 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 210.6% in the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 306,796 shares of the company's stock valued at $124,691,000 after purchasing an additional 208,015 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 29.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 843,764 shares of the company's stock worth $253,020,000 after acquiring an additional 193,075 shares in the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.