HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) Sets New 1-Year High at $403.42

Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $403.42 and last traded at $402.89, with a volume of 425499 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $394.68.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on HCA shares. Baird R W upgraded shares of HCA Healthcare to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $396.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on HCA Healthcare from $378.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $390.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $345.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $359.89.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 27.11, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.06. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $367.24 and its 200-day moving average is $339.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $104.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.93, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.67.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $5.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.53. The business had revenue of $17.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.05 billion. HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 553.13% and a net margin of 8.40%. The business’s revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.29 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 22.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.16%.

Insider Transactions at HCA Healthcare

In related news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 8,358 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $385.42, for a total transaction of $3,221,340.36. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 29,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,438,494.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 1,857 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.05, for a total value of $659,327.85. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 17,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,303,912.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 8,358 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $385.42, for a total transaction of $3,221,340.36. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,678 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,438,494.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 17,202 shares of company stock valued at $6,407,273 over the last 90 days. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HCA Healthcare

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Bangor Savings Bank boosted its stake in HCA Healthcare by 112.5% during the second quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 85 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the second quarter worth about $28,000. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC boosted its position in HCA Healthcare by 284.0% in the 2nd quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 96 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. Finally, LifeSteps Financial Inc. purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare in the first quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.