HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) Given Overweight Rating at Cantor Fitzgerald

Cantor Fitzgerald reissued their overweight rating on shares of HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) in a research report report published on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $392.00 target price on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on HCA. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $405.00 to $438.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $315.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. StockNews.com upgraded HCA Healthcare from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Monday, July 1st. Oppenheimer upped their price target on HCA Healthcare from $345.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised HCA Healthcare to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $359.89.

HCA Healthcare Stock Down 0.2 %

HCA stock opened at $405.45 on Tuesday. HCA Healthcare has a twelve month low of $215.96 and a twelve month high of $409.42. The company has a market cap of $106.19 billion, a PE ratio of 20.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.67. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $381.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $344.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 27.11.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $5.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.53. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.40% and a return on equity of 553.13%. The business had revenue of $17.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.29 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare will post 22.46 earnings per share for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is 13.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 1,857 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.05, for a total value of $659,327.85. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 17,755 shares in the company, valued at $6,303,912.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 8,358 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $385.42, for a total transaction of $3,221,340.36. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 29,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,438,494.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 1,857 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.05, for a total transaction of $659,327.85. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 17,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,303,912.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 17,202 shares of company stock valued at $6,407,273. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HCA Healthcare

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HCA. CreativeOne Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the first quarter worth about $231,000. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board raised its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 29.9% during the 1st quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 13,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,636,000 after acquiring an additional 3,200 shares in the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the first quarter worth $566,000. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its position in HCA Healthcare by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 199,209 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,922,000 after purchasing an additional 26,919 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brave Warrior Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 182.1% during the 4th quarter. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC now owns 3,873 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,048,000 after buying an additional 2,500 shares in the last quarter. 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.