Brokerages Set HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Target Price at $365.65

HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twelve have assigned a buy recommendation and three have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $377.17.

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley began coverage on HCA Healthcare in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $427.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $378.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $392.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $345.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on HCA Healthcare from $365.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday.

HCA Healthcare Stock Down 2.7 %

HCA Healthcare stock opened at $398.90 on Tuesday. HCA Healthcare has a 12 month low of $220.55 and a 12 month high of $417.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $104.48 billion, a PE ratio of 19.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 27.11, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $394.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $352.30.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $5.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.53. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.40% and a return on equity of 553.13%. The business had revenue of $17.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.05 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.29 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare will post 22.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at HCA Healthcare

In other news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 8,358 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $385.42, for a total value of $3,221,340.36. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,438,494.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Kathleen M. Whalen sold 2,987 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $363.51, for a total value of $1,085,804.37. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,436,623.54. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 8,358 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $385.42, for a total transaction of $3,221,340.36. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 29,678 shares in the company, valued at $11,438,494.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 15,345 shares of company stock worth $5,747,945. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HCA Healthcare

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bangor Savings Bank raised its stake in HCA Healthcare by 112.5% in the second quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 85 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC grew its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 284.0% in the 2nd quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 96 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the second quarter valued at $33,000. 62.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.