Short Interest in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Declines By 16.1%

HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,940,000 shares, a decrease of 16.1% from the February 28th total of 5,890,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,630,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.0 days. Currently, 2.8% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $380.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $430.00 to $390.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $370.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $405.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $392.00 to $366.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, HCA Healthcare presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $385.67.

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HCA Healthcare Trading Down 4.8 %

HCA stock traded down $16.61 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $332.53. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,518,277 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,364,360. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $327.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $339.47. 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 stock has a market cap of $81.87 billion, a PE ratio of 15.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.68. HCA Healthcare has a 52 week low of $289.98 and a 52 week high of $417.14.

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

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were given a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. This is a boost from HCA Healthcare's previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. HCA Healthcare's dividend payout ratio is currently 13.11%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 $4,971,757.08. The trade was a 38.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HCA. MML Investors Services LLC increased its stake in HCA Healthcare by 31.7% during the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 17,816 shares of the company's stock worth $7,241,000 after purchasing an additional 4,285 shares in the last quarter. Meritage Group LP acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the third quarter worth $150,548,000. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter worth $18,044,000. NRI Wealth Management LC bought a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,896,000. Finally, Czech National Bank grew its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 39,543 shares of the company's stock worth $11,869,000 after buying an additional 1,691 shares in the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.