HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) Issues FY24 Earnings Guidance

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) issued an update on its FY24 earnings guidance on Friday morning. The company provided EPS guidance of $19.70-21.20 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of $20.60. The company issued revenue guidance of $67.75-70.25 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $69.06 billion. HCA Healthcare also updated its FY 2024 guidance to 19.700-21.200 EPS.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HCA opened at $306.69 on Friday. HCA Healthcare has a one year low of $215.96 and a one year high of $335.83. The firm has a market cap of $81.11 billion, a PE ratio of 15.29, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.65. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $323.94 and a 200 day moving average of $295.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 35.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.18.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $5.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.01 by $0.35. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.07% and a return on equity of 996.30%. The business had revenue of $17.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.93 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that HCA Healthcare will post 20.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is 13.16%.

HCA Healthcare declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 30th that permits the company to buyback $6.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $330.00 to $359.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $308.00 to $322.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $303.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of HCA Healthcare from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $277.00 to $301.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an overweight rating and a $356.00 target price on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, HCA Healthcare presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $310.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Kathleen M. Whalen sold 4,262 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.21, for a total value of $1,305,067.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 10,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,138,652.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 3,861 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.00, for a total transaction of $1,185,327.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 15,899 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,880,993. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Kathleen M. Whalen sold 4,262 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.21, for a total value of $1,305,067.02. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 10,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,138,652.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,840 shares of company stock worth $4,588,869 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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.