Analysts Set HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Target Price at $385.67

HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $385.67.

A number of brokerages have commented on HCA. Truist Financial decreased their price target on HCA Healthcare from $430.00 to $390.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $405.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $405.00 to $384.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. KeyCorp lowered their price target on HCA Healthcare from $420.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

Shares of HCA Healthcare stock opened at $341.94 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.19 billion, a PE ratio of 15.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.68. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $323.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $341.86. 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 12 month low of $289.98 and a 12 month high of $417.14.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.03 by $0.19. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.16% and a return on equity of 586.47%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.90 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare will post 24.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.84%. This is an increase from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is 13.11%.

Insider Transactions at HCA Healthcare

In related news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.59, for a total value of $3,075,250.47. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,971,757.08. This represents a 38.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HCA Healthcare

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of HCA. Pathstone Holdings LLC boosted its position in HCA Healthcare by 23.1% in the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 27,589 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,213,000 after purchasing an additional 5,175 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc boosted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 204.2% during the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 2,917 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,186,000 after acquiring an additional 1,958 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 39,433 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,027,000 after purchasing an additional 654 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the third quarter valued at about $133,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 124.1% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 42,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,284,000 after buying an additional 23,553 shares during the period. 62.73% of the stock is currently 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.