Equities Analysts Offer Predictions for HCA Healthcare, Inc.’s Q2 2024 Earnings (NYSE:HCA)

HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) – Equities researchers at Leerink Partnrs increased their Q2 2024 earnings estimates for HCA Healthcare in a research report issued to clients and investors on Sunday, April 28th. Leerink Partnrs analyst W. Mayo now forecasts that the company will post earnings of $5.44 per share for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $4.98. The consensus estimate for HCA Healthcare’s current full-year earnings is $20.58 per share. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for HCA Healthcare’s Q3 2024 earnings at $4.68 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $21.18 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $6.36 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $6.49 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $5.63 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $25.27 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $27.81 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $30.56 EPS.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on HCA. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $303.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. StockNews.com raised shares of HCA Healthcare from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $320.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, HCA Healthcare currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $313.88.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

HCA opened at $311.42 on Tuesday. HCA Healthcare has a 12-month low of $215.96 and a 12-month high of $335.83. The company has a market cap of $82.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.52, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.26. The company’s 50 day moving average is $323.67 and its 200 day moving average is $295.56.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last released its quarterly 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 return on equity of 674.49% and a net margin of 8.20%. The firm had revenue of $17.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.81 billion. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.93 EPS.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HCA Healthcare

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Caprock Group LLC increased its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 8.4% in the first quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 4,261 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,421,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares during the period. Argent Capital Management LLC lifted its position in HCA Healthcare by 0.5% in the first quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 12,183 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,063,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management increased its stake in HCA Healthcare by 2.5% in the first quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management now owns 58,159 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,961,000 after acquiring an additional 1,425 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 7.5% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 422,407 shares of the company’s stock worth $140,885,000 after buying an additional 29,326 shares during the period. Finally, Seascape Capital Management raised its stake in HCA Healthcare by 2.2% during the first quarter. Seascape Capital Management now owns 14,235 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,748,000 after acquiring an additional 313 shares in the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at HCA Healthcare

In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Kathleen M. Whalen sold 4,262 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 10,250 shares in the company, valued at $3,138,652.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Chad J. Wasserman sold 344 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $321.97, for a total value of $110,757.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,452 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $789,470.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kathleen M. Whalen sold 4,262 shares of the company’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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,138,652.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 14,840 shares of company stock worth $4,588,869. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.16%.

HCA Healthcare announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, January 30th that permits the company to buyback $6.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.