HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation, eleven have given a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $385.63.

HCA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $390.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Barclays dropped their price target on HCA Healthcare from $396.00 to $392.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 8th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $450.00 to $440.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 28th. KeyCorp lowered their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $475.00 to $420.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $392.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

Shares of HCA stock opened at $307.74 on Wednesday. HCA Healthcare has a 1 year low of $263.22 and a 1 year high of $417.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 48.71, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The business has a fifty day moving average of $352.47 and a 200 day moving average of $358.35.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at HCA Healthcare

In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Phillip G. Billington sold 3,897 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was 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 $18,445,700. This represents a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Erol R. Akdamar sold 2,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $353.00, for a total value of $1,023,700.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 6,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,415,579. This trade represents a 29.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Terra Nova Asset Management LLC raised its holdings 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 period. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 7.4% in the third quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 421 shares of the company’s stock valued at $171,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,681 shares of the company’s stock valued at $683,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its stake in HCA Healthcare by 0.7% during the third quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 4,065 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,652,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in HCA Healthcare by 2.4% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,301 shares of the company’s stock valued at $529,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is 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.