HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Stock Has Average Price Target of $467.61

HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-four ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $467.61.

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on HCA shares. Raymond James Financial set a $528.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $520.00 to $485.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 27th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $495.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $431.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HCA opened at $459.14 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $429.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $418.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $99.40 billion, a PE ratio of 15.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.10. HCA Healthcare has a 52 week low of $353.99 and a 52 week high of $556.52.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The company reported $7.59 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $20.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.76 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $6.84 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare will post 29.45 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HCA Healthcare

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HCA. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in HCA Healthcare in the 2nd quarter valued at about $5,069,974,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in HCA Healthcare by 20.5% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,707,473 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,835,397,000 after acquiring an additional 799,761 shares during the last quarter. Darsana Capital Partners LP boosted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 46.7% during the second quarter. Darsana Capital Partners LP now owns 1,100,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $428,879,000 after acquiring an additional 350,000 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the second quarter valued at approximately $410,992,000. Finally, Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the second quarter worth approximately $371,138,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting HCA Healthcare

Here are the key news stories impacting HCA Healthcare this week:

• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen raised its price target to $460 while maintaining its view on HCA, signaling continued confidence in the hospital operator’s outlook. However, the revised target implies limited near-term upside at current levels. TD Cowen raises HCA Healthcare price target
• Positive Sentiment: HCA opened a new $22 million freestanding emergency department in Florida, expanding its care network and potentially supporting long-term admissions and revenue growth. The financial impact is likely to be gradual. HCA opens new Florida freestanding emergency department
• Neutral Sentiment: The CEO of HCA Florida Capital Hospital, Dale Neely, is stepping down. The departure creates some management uncertainty, although no operational disruption or broader leadership change was reported. HCA Florida hospital CEO to exit
• Negative Sentiment: HCA is disputing North Carolina’s authority to enforce provisions of its 2019 Mission Health acquisition agreement. The legal dispute could increase regulatory scrutiny and create potential compliance costs, penalties or restrictions involving the Mission system. HCA disputes state authority over Mission deal
• Negative Sentiment: Pomerantz LLP announced an investigation into potential claims on behalf of HCA investors. Although such law-firm announcements do not establish wrongdoing, they add headline and litigation risk and may weigh on sentiment. Pomerantz investor investigation
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts expect a decline in HCA’s upcoming earnings, and Zacks said the company lacks the typical factors supporting a likely earnings beat. This raises caution ahead of the earnings report and may be the most direct near-term pressure on the stock. HCA earnings expectations

About HCA Healthcare

HCA Healthcare, Inc is a healthcare services company that operates hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, emergency care facilities, physician practices and other healthcare sites. Its facilities provide a broad range of services, including acute and emergency care, surgery, cardiology, oncology, women’s and children’s services, behavioral health and outpatient care.

The company serves patients primarily across the United States through a network of healthcare facilities in numerous states.