HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Receives $385.00 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the nineteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twelve have given a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $385.00.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on HCA shares. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $390.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $395.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group upped their price target on HCA Healthcare from $405.00 to $438.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. StockNews.com cut HCA Healthcare from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $392.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Phillip G. Billington sold 3,897 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total value of $1,363,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 52,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,445,700. This trade represents a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Erol R. Akdamar sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $353.00, for a total value of $1,023,700.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 6,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,415,579. This represents a 29.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 15,155 shares of company stock valued at $5,608,990. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. 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 valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 284.0% during the 2nd quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 96 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. bought a new position in HCA Healthcare in the second quarter valued at $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Trading Down 2.1 %

HCA stock opened at $335.89 on Friday. HCA Healthcare has a twelve month low of $245.03 and a twelve month high of $417.14. The business has a fifty day moving average of $384.12 and a 200-day moving average of $358.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 48.71. The company has a market cap of $85.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.08, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.68.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.85%.

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.