HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) Lifted to “Strong-Buy” at StockNews.com

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on HCA. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $335.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $320.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on HCA Healthcare from $330.00 to $359.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $314.05.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

HCA traded up $5.20 during trading on Monday, reaching $310.31. 1,110,507 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,089,153. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $324.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $292.52. The company has a market capitalization of $82.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.35, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.65. HCA Healthcare has a fifty-two week low of $215.96 and a fifty-two week high of $335.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 35.07.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $5.90 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.85. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.07% and a return on equity of 996.30%. The firm had revenue of $17.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.64 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that HCA Healthcare will post 20.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 30th that permits the company to repurchase $6.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at HCA Healthcare

In related news, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 3,861 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.00, for a total value of $1,185,327.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 15,899 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,880,993. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 3,861 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.00, for a total value of $1,185,327.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,899 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,880,993. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Kathleen M. Whalen sold 4,262 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.21, for a total transaction of $1,305,067.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 10,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,138,652.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 14,840 shares of company stock valued at $4,588,869. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HCA Healthcare

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Stone House Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new position in HCA Healthcare in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Centerpoint Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

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.