Leerink Partnrs Boosts Earnings Estimates for HCA Healthcare

HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) – Analysts at Leerink Partnrs upped their Q2 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of HCA Healthcare in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, October 23rd. Leerink Partnrs analyst W. Mayo now anticipates that the company will earn $6.53 per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $6.52. The consensus estimate for HCA Healthcare’s current full-year earnings is $22.51 per share. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for HCA Healthcare’s Q3 2025 earnings at $5.77 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $7.44 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $25.79 EPS.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $5.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.53. The firm had revenue of $17.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.05 billion. HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 553.13% and a net margin of 8.40%. The firm’s revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.29 EPS.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on HCA. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on HCA Healthcare from $365.00 to $395.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on HCA Healthcare from $378.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Leerink Partners increased their price target on HCA Healthcare from $367.00 to $396.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. UBS Group increased their price target on HCA Healthcare from $405.00 to $438.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on HCA Healthcare from $376.00 to $396.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, HCA Healthcare has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $377.17.

HCA Healthcare Stock Down 8.8 %

Shares of NYSE:HCA opened at $363.75 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 27.11. The business has a fifty day moving average of $395.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $352.63. The stock has a market cap of $95.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.13, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.67. HCA Healthcare has a 52-week low of $220.55 and a 52-week high of $417.14.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Terra Nova Asset Management LLC grew its stake in HCA Healthcare by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Terra Nova Asset Management LLC now owns 8,112 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,297,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 421 shares of the company’s stock valued at $171,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,681 shares of the company’s stock valued at $683,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management grew its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 4,065 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,652,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,301 shares of the company’s stock valued at $529,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at HCA Healthcare

In other news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 8,358 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 8,358 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Kathleen M. Whalen sold 2,987 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $363.51, for a total value of $1,085,804.37. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,454 shares in the company, valued at $3,436,623.54. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,345 shares of company stock valued at $5,747,945 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.73%. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.16%.

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.