HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $385.67.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on HCA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $380.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Guggenheim initiated coverage on HCA Healthcare in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on HCA Healthcare from $405.00 to $384.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $392.00 to $366.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,971,757.08. This represents a 38.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HCA Healthcare

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HCA. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Tidemark LLC acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Activest Wealth Management boosted its stake in HCA Healthcare by 1,250.0% during the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank bought a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the fourth quarter worth approximately $62,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Trading Up 2.2 %

NYSE HCA opened at $340.75 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $327.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $335.63. HCA Healthcare has a fifty-two week low of $289.98 and a fifty-two week high of $417.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.08. The stock has a market cap of $83.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.48.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 period last year, the company posted $5.90 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were given a $0.72 dividend. This is an increase from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. HCA Healthcare’s dividend 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.