HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) Stock Price Up 4.5% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) were up 4.5% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $342.60 and last traded at $345.10. Approximately 439,012 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 1,677,116 shares. The stock had previously closed at $330.15.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on HCA shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $405.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $405.00 to $384.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Bank of America cut their target price on HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded HCA Healthcare from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $400.00 to $320.00 in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $380.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $385.67.

HCA Healthcare Trading Up 2.1 %

The firm has a market cap of $82.99 billion, a PE ratio of 15.36, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.68. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $316.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $347.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.03 by $0.19. HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 586.47% and a net margin of 8.16%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.90 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. This is an increase from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.59, for a total transaction of $3,075,250.47. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 15,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,971,757.08. The trade was a 38.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HCA Healthcare

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. MML Investors Services LLC increased its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 31.7% during the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 17,816 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,241,000 after purchasing an additional 4,285 shares during the last quarter. Meritage Group LP acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare in the third quarter valued at $150,548,000. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $18,044,000. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 3rd quarter worth $869,000. Finally, NRI Wealth Management LC purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,896,000. 62.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.