HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) Shares Down 3.2% – Here’s What Happened

HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) shares dropped 3.2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $437.03 and last traded at $425.94. Approximately 424,388 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 72% from the average daily volume of 1,490,992 shares. The stock had previously closed at $440.16.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HCA has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wolfe Research lowered HCA Healthcare from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $423.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Mizuho boosted their target price on HCA Healthcare from $425.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $375.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $444.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $437.19.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $414.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $382.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $104.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.26, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.40.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 24th. The company reported $6.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.64 by $1.32. HCA Healthcare had a negative return on equity of 7,363.11% and a net margin of 8.21%.The business had revenue of $19.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.55 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.90 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. HCA Healthcare has set its FY 2025 guidance at 27.000-28.000 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 29th. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 3,836 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $418.84, for a total transaction of $1,606,670.24. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 31,503 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,194,716.52. This trade represents a 10.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HCA Healthcare

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of HCA. Cheviot Value Management LLC bought a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the first quarter worth $27,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new position in HCA Healthcare during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Chung Wu Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.