Leerink Partners Reiterates Outperform Rating for HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA)

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reissued by equities researchers at Leerink Partners in a research report issued on Friday, September 18th, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $492.00 target price on the stock. Leerink Partners’ price objective suggests a potential upside of 13.06% from the company’s previous close.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group set a $450.00 price objective on HCA Healthcare in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $588.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $369.00 to $381.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $535.00 to $495.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $396.00 to $393.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 27th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $463.70.

HCA Healthcare Stock Up 2.8%

NYSE HCA traded up $11.70 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $435.18. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,020,209 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,360,466. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $410.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $426.02. HCA Healthcare has a 1 year low of $353.99 and a 1 year high of $556.52. The company has a market capitalization of $94.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.57, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.10.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The company reported $7.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $19.76 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $6.84 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare will post 29.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of HCA Healthcare

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in HCA Healthcare in the 2nd quarter valued at $5,069,974,000. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 40,086 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in HCA Healthcare by 20.5% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,707,473 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,835,397,000 after purchasing an additional 799,761 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in HCA Healthcare by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,663,705 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,702,738,000 after purchasing an additional 13,565 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,262,513,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

About HCA Healthcare

HCA Healthcare, Inc (NYSE:HCA) is a healthcare services company that operates hospitals and other healthcare facilities. Its network provides a broad range of medical services, including emergency care, inpatient and outpatient treatment, surgery, diagnostic services, and maternity care.

The company also operates ambulatory surgery centers, urgent care facilities, physician practices, and other outpatient locations. HCA Healthcare serves patients through facilities located across the United States, as well as through HCA Healthcare UK, its healthcare operations in the United Kingdom.

HCA Healthcare was founded in 1968 by Dr.