Royal Bank Of Canada Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) Stock

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) had its price target hoisted by research analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada from $435.00 to $496.00 in a report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada’s price target points to a potential upside of 13.92% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on HCA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $490.00 to $425.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Barclays lowered their target price on HCA Healthcare from $402.00 to $387.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Leerink Partners restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $492.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Friday, September 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $525.00 to $475.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $466.35.

HCA Healthcare Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE:HCA opened at $435.38 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $94.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s 50-day moving average is $418.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $420.54. HCA Healthcare has a 12-month low of $353.99 and a 12-month high of $556.52.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The company reported $7.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.56 by $0.03. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.77% and a negative return on equity of 244.79%. The firm had revenue of $20.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.76 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $6.84 earnings per share. HCA Healthcare’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare will post 29.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HCA Healthcare

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in HCA. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the second quarter valued at $5,069,974,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 20.5% in the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,707,473 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,835,397,000 after buying an additional 799,761 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,311,112 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,078,966,000 after acquiring an additional 245,887 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,322,211 shares of the company’s stock worth $617,287,000 after purchasing an additional 72,219 shares during the period. Finally, Darsana Capital Partners LP boosted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 46.7% in the 2nd quarter. Darsana Capital Partners LP now owns 1,100,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $428,879,000 after purchasing an additional 350,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Company Profile

HCA Healthcare, Inc is a provider of healthcare services in the United States. Through its network of hospitals and other healthcare facilities, the company delivers services including emergency and urgent care, surgery, inpatient and outpatient treatment, women’s and children’s care, cardiology, oncology, orthopedics, and behavioral health services.

HCA Healthcare also operates physician practices, ambulatory surgery centers, freestanding emergency rooms, diagnostic facilities, and other outpatient care sites.