HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) Stock Price Down 4% – What’s Next?

HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) shares were down 4% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $309.00 and last traded at $312.28. Approximately 918,277 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 41% from the average daily volume of 1,548,730 shares. The stock had previously closed at $325.36.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on HCA. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $392.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of HCA Healthcare from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $400.00 to $320.00 in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Barclays reduced their target price on HCA Healthcare from $396.00 to $392.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $380.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of HCA Healthcare from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $385.27.

HCA Healthcare Trading Down 3.3 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $79.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.64. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $314.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $352.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 48.71.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.03 by $0.19. HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 520.98% and a net margin of 8.52%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.90 EPS. On average, analysts expect that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 21.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Phillip G. Billington sold 3,897 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total transaction of $1,363,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 52,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,445,700. The trade was a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Erol R. Akdamar sold 2,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,843 shares in the company, valued at $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. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HCA Healthcare

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. bought a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the second quarter worth $33,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Canoe Financial LP bought a new position in HCA Healthcare during the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the third quarter valued at about $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.73% 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.