Robert W. Baird Issues Pessimistic Forecast for HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) Stock Price

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) had its target price dropped by equities researchers at Robert W. Baird from $396.00 to $393.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 2.80% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $510.00 to $475.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $588.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Truist Financial set a $413.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of HCA Healthcare from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $480.55.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

NYSE:HCA opened at $382.28 on Monday. HCA Healthcare has a one year low of $330.00 and a one year high of $556.52. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $386.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $453.56. The stock has a market cap of $84.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.12.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 24th. The company reported $7.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.56 by $0.03. HCA Healthcare had a negative return on equity of 244.79% and a net margin of 8.77%.The company had revenue of $20.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.76 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.84 EPS. HCA Healthcare’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that HCA Healthcare will post 29.19 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,566,643 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,532,563,000 after purchasing an additional 76,039 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,999,422 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,334,040,000 after buying an additional 40,086 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,663,705 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,702,738,000 after acquiring an additional 13,565 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter valued at $1,262,513,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,311,112 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,078,966,000 after buying an additional 245,887 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

About HCA Healthcare

HCA Healthcare is a for?profit operator of healthcare facilities headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1968, the company owns and operates a network of hospitals and related healthcare facilities and has grown through organic expansion and acquisitions to become a large provider of inpatient and outpatient services.

The company’s core activities include the operation of acute care hospitals, freestanding surgical and emergency centers, and outpatient clinics. HCA’s services encompass inpatient care, surgical services, emergency medicine, diagnostic imaging and laboratory testing, and various outpatient and ambulatory care offerings.