Leerink Partnrs Weighs in on HCA Healthcare FY2027 Earnings

HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) – Research analysts at Leerink Partnrs upped their FY2027 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of HCA Healthcare in a report issued on Monday, January 27th. Leerink Partnrs analyst W. Mayo now expects that the company will post earnings of $32.55 per share for the year, up from their previous estimate of $30.68. The consensus estimate for HCA Healthcare’s current full-year earnings is $21.75 per share.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded HCA Healthcare from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $400.00 to $320.00 in a report on Monday, November 25th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $406.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $390.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Bank of America dropped their price target on HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, Raymond James downgraded shares of HCA Healthcare from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $382.19.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

HCA opened at $334.66 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $313.18 and a 200-day moving average of $353.09. HCA Healthcare has a 52-week low of $289.98 and a 52-week high of $417.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 48.71, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.12. The company has a market cap of $84.77 billion, a PE ratio of 15.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.64.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last announced its quarterly 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 8.52% and a return on equity of 520.98%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.90 EPS.

Institutional Trading of HCA Healthcare

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HCA. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the third quarter worth $39,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in HCA Healthcare during the third quarter worth about $41,000. Canoe Financial LP bought a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the third quarter worth about $41,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $50,000. 62.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Phillip G. Billington sold 3,897 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total value of $1,363,950.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 52,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,445,700. This trade represents a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Erol R. Akdamar sold 2,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. This is a positive change from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.85%.

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.