Q1 EPS Estimates for HCA Healthcare Lowered by Analyst

HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) - Investment analysts at Leerink Partnrs reduced their Q1 2025 earnings per share estimates for shares of HCA Healthcare in a note issued to investors on Monday, January 27th. Leerink Partnrs analyst W. Mayo now anticipates that the company will post earnings of $5.80 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $6.08. The consensus estimate for HCA Healthcare's current full-year earnings is $21.75 per share. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for HCA Healthcare's Q2 2025 earnings at $6.37 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $5.55 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $7.39 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $25.11 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $6.86 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $7.19 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $6.28 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $8.44 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $28.78 EPS.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $405.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Monday. Raymond James cut HCA Healthcare from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. KeyCorp lowered 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 report on Tuesday, January 7th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on HCA Healthcare from $430.00 to $390.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of HCA Healthcare from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $400.00 to $320.00 in a report on Monday, November 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, HCA Healthcare currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $382.19.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HCA traded down $3.61 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $328.39. 2,498,640 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,820,449. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 48.71. HCA Healthcare has a fifty-two week low of $281.61 and a fifty-two week high of $417.14. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $313.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $353.24. The firm has a market cap of $83.18 billion, a PE ratio of 14.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.64.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 net margin of 8.52% and a return on equity of 520.98%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.90 earnings per share.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter worth about $41,000. Canoe Financial LP purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare in the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the third quarter worth $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at HCA Healthcare

In other HCA Healthcare news, insider Erol R. Akdamar sold 2,900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $353.00, for a total transaction of $1,023,700.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,415,579. The trade was a 29.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Phillip G. Billington sold 3,897 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 is a positive change from HCA Healthcare's previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. HCA Healthcare's payout ratio is 13.11%.

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.