HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at StockNews.com

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Monday.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the company. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on HCA Healthcare in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $396.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer raised their price target on HCA Healthcare from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $335.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $371.00 to $360.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on HCA Healthcare from $359.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $326.53.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

Shares of HCA Healthcare stock opened at $319.70 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $326.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $317.80. HCA Healthcare has a 52 week low of $215.96 and a 52 week high of $344.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.68.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last announced its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $17.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.81 billion. HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 674.49% and a net margin of 8.20%. The business’s revenue was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.93 EPS. Research analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare will post 20.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at HCA Healthcare

In related 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 transaction of $303,576.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 22,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,977,880. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Jeffrey E. Cohen sold 1,650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.00, for a total transaction of $516,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,622,905. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 973 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,397 shares of company stock valued at $3,921,929 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HCA Healthcare

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board raised its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 29.9% during the first quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 13,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,636,000 after purchasing an additional 3,200 shares during the period. Apexium Financial LP bought a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $361,000. Sanders Capital LLC boosted its position in HCA Healthcare by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 11,404,003 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,086,836,000 after purchasing an additional 456,738 shares during the period. Todd Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 17.2% during the fourth quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC now owns 226,563 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,326,000 after acquiring an additional 33,271 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its position in HCA Healthcare by 60.6% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 365,984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $99,065,000 after purchasing an additional 138,146 shares during the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.