HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) Lowered to “Market Perform” Rating by Raymond James

Raymond James cut shares of HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Wolfe Research raised shares of HCA Healthcare to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Oppenheimer upped their price target 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. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $378.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of HCA Healthcare from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $427.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, HCA Healthcare presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $380.29.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

NYSE HCA opened at $325.50 on Friday. HCA Healthcare has a 52 week low of $245.84 and a 52 week high of $417.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 48.71. The stock has a market cap of $82.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $377.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $358.72.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at HCA Healthcare

In other news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 8,358 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 29,678 shares in the company, valued at $11,438,494.76. This represents a 21.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Phillip G. Billington sold 3,897 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total transaction of $1,363,950.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 52,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,445,700. This trade represents a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 15,155 shares of company stock worth $5,608,990. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. FMR LLC grew its stake in HCA Healthcare by 322.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,141,769 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,276,909,000 after buying an additional 2,397,883 shares during the last quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare in the 2nd quarter valued at $131,527,000. Darsana Capital Partners LP boosted its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 53.3% in the 2nd quarter. Darsana Capital Partners LP now owns 1,150,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $369,472,000 after purchasing an additional 400,000 shares during the period. Meritage Group LP bought a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the 3rd quarter valued at $150,548,000. Finally, Swedbank AB bought a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the 1st quarter valued at $95,882,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.