HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) Cut to "Hold" at Baird R W

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at Baird R W from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $370.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on HCA Healthcare from $405.00 to $384.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $420.00 to $370.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $380.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of HCA Healthcare from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $381.67.

HCA Healthcare Stock Down 5.6 %

NYSE HCA traded down $18.69 on Tuesday, hitting $316.32. 804,509 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,382,073. The company has a market cap of $77.88 billion, a PE ratio of 14.40, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.48. HCA Healthcare has a 12 month low of $289.98 and a 12 month high of $417.14. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $328.55 and a 200-day moving average of $333.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 prior year, the company posted $5.90 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at HCA Healthcare

In related news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were 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 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Atwood & Palmer Inc. bought a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Tidemark LLC purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Activest Wealth Management grew its position in HCA Healthcare by 1,250.0% during the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 135 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. grew its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 150 shares of the company's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.73% of the company's stock.

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.