HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) Shares Gap Down to $324.32

HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $324.32, but opened at $314.80. HCA Healthcare shares last traded at $319.79, with a volume of 82,905 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on HCA. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $396.00 price objective on the stock. Baird R W raised HCA Healthcare to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on HCA Healthcare from $327.00 to $332.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on HCA Healthcare from $303.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price target on HCA Healthcare from $371.00 to $360.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Four 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, HCA Healthcare currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $327.06.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.67 billion, a PE ratio of 15.86, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.68. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $327.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $320.45.

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. 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.93 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 20.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is 13.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other HCA Healthcare news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 1,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.00, for a total transaction of $494,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 34,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,544,316. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other HCA Healthcare news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 1,600 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.00, for a total value of $494,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 34,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,544,316. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 1,863 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 12,397 shares of company stock worth $3,921,929. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HCA Healthcare

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HCA. Centerpoint Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. LifeSteps Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the first quarter worth $36,000. 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.