HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) Given “Overweight” Rating at Cantor Fitzgerald

Cantor Fitzgerald restated their overweight rating on shares of HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $335.00 target price on the stock.

HCA has been the subject of several other research reports. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $371.00 to $360.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $327.00 to $332.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They set an outperform rating and a $396.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of HCA Healthcare to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $326.53.

HCA Healthcare Stock Up 1.5 %

HCA stock opened at $319.70 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.26. HCA Healthcare has a 12 month low of $215.96 and a 12 month high of $344.20. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $326.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $317.80.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last issued 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. The business had revenue of $17.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.81 billion. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.20% and a return on equity of 674.49%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $4.93 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare will post 20.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th were given a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 973 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 22,365 shares in the company, valued at $6,977,880. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 973 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 22,365 shares in the company, valued at $6,977,880. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 1,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.00, for a total transaction of $494,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 34,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,544,316. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 12,397 shares of company stock worth $3,921,929. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of HCA Healthcare

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HCA. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 461 shares of the company’s stock valued at $125,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 26.7% during the 4th quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc. lifted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 2,642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $881,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 3,879 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,294,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital lifted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 2,527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $711,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

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.