Brokerages Set HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Price Target at $382.19

Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation, twelve have assigned a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $385.67.

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on HCA shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of HCA Healthcare from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price target for the company from $400.00 to $320.00 in a report on Monday, November 25th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on HCA Healthcare from $430.00 to $390.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on HCA Healthcare from $405.00 to $384.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $390.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th.

Insider Transactions at HCA Healthcare

In other HCA Healthcare news, insider Erol R. Akdamar sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $353.00, for a total value of $1,023,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,415,579. This represents a 29.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Phillip G. Billington sold 3,897 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total transaction of $1,363,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 52,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,445,700. The trade was a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. Activest Wealth Management grew its stake in HCA Healthcare by 1,250.0% during the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 135 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in HCA Healthcare in the 3rd quarter valued at $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

Shares of HCA opened at $336.93 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.64. HCA Healthcare has a 12-month low of $289.98 and a 12-month high of $417.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $313.64 and its 200-day moving average is $353.69.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.03 by $0.19. HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 586.47% and a net margin of 8.16%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.90 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare will post 24.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This is a boost from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is currently 12.02%.

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.