HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Receives $385.67 Consensus PT from Analysts

HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the eighteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation, twelve have issued a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $385.67.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on HCA. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $370.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered HCA Healthcare from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $400.00 to $320.00 in a report on Monday, November 25th. KeyCorp reduced their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $420.00 to $370.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $405.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on HCA Healthcare from $406.00 to $355.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th.

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HCA Healthcare Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of HCA traded up $5.42 on Friday, hitting $334.21. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,423,792 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,295,553. HCA Healthcare has a fifty-two week low of $289.98 and a fifty-two week high of $417.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $321.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $342.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.68.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.03 by $0.19. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.16% and a return on equity of 586.47%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.90 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that HCA Healthcare will post 24.98 EPS for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This is an increase from HCA Healthcare's previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. HCA Healthcare's dividend payout ratio is currently 13.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.59, for a total transaction of $3,075,250.47. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,412 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,971,757.08. This represents a 38.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HCA Healthcare

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Pathstone Holdings LLC raised its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 23.1% during the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 27,589 shares of the company's stock worth $11,213,000 after buying an additional 5,175 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc increased its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 204.2% during the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 2,917 shares of the company's stock worth $1,186,000 after purchasing an additional 1,958 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1.7% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 39,433 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,027,000 after purchasing an additional 654 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the 3rd quarter valued at $133,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 124.1% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 42,527 shares of the company's stock valued at $17,284,000 after purchasing an additional 23,553 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.73% of the company's stock.

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.