Barclays Increases HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) Price Target to $376.00

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) had its price target boosted by investment analysts at Barclays from $367.00 to $376.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Barclays‘s price target indicates a potential upside of 18.47% from the stock’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on HCA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target 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. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $371.00 to $360.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on HCA Healthcare in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $396.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on HCA Healthcare from $322.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $327.06.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

HCA Healthcare stock opened at $317.37 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $83.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.82, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.68. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $327.25 and its 200 day moving average is $319.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.26. HCA Healthcare has a 52-week low of $215.96 and a 52-week high of $344.20.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $5.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.01 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $17.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $4.93 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare will post 20.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 973 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 22,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,977,880. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 973 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 22,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,977,880. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 1,863 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.18, for a total transaction of $607,673.34. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 19,612 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,397,042.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,397 shares of company stock worth $3,921,929 in the last three months. 1.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HCA Healthcare

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Centerpoint Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. LifeSteps Financial Inc. bought a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.