Short Interest in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Drops By 16.1%

HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,940,000 shares, a decrease of 16.1% from the February 28th total of 5,890,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,630,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.0 days. Currently, 2.8% of the company’s shares are sold short.

HCA Healthcare Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of HCA traded up $0.31 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $345.86. The stock had a trading volume of 1,226,315 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,346,332. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $325.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $340.60. The firm has a market cap of $85.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07. HCA Healthcare has a fifty-two week low of $289.98 and a fifty-two week high of $417.14.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 last year, the company posted $5.90 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare will post 24.98 EPS for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a $0.72 dividend. This is a positive change from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on HCA shares. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $430.00 to $390.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $405.00 to $384.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Barclays cut their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $392.00 to $366.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $406.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their target price on HCA Healthcare from $420.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, HCA Healthcare has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $385.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at HCA Healthcare

In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.59, for a total transaction of $3,075,250.47. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,971,757.08. The trade was a 38.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of HCA Healthcare

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the third quarter worth about $39,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Tidemark LLC bought a new position in HCA Healthcare in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Activest Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1,250.0% in the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 150 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. 62.73% of the stock is owned by 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.