Brokerages Set HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Target Price at $325.59

Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $325.59.

Several brokerages have weighed in on HCA. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $335.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. 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 research note on Thursday, March 28th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $356.00 to $367.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $371.00 to $360.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of HCA Healthcare from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, June 16th.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

NYSE HCA opened at $340.45 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.26, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.16. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $323.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $316.25. HCA Healthcare has a 52-week low of $215.96 and a 52-week high of $343.53. The company has a market cap of $89.17 billion, a PE ratio of 16.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.69.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $5.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.01 by $0.35. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.20% and a return on equity of 674.49%. The firm had revenue of $17.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.81 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.93 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare will post 20.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is 13.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at HCA Healthcare

In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 973 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $312.00, for a total value of $303,576.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 22,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,977,880. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, SVP Jeffrey E. Cohen sold 1,650 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.00, for a total value of $516,450.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 5,185 shares in the company, valued at $1,622,905. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 973 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $312.00, for a total transaction of $303,576.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 22,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,977,880. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 12,397 shares of company stock valued at $3,921,929. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HCA Healthcare

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Stone House Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Centerpoint Advisors LLC acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, LifeSteps Financial Inc. acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.