HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-five research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have given a hold recommendation and sixteen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $521.5455.

HCA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut HCA Healthcare from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $425.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, December 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $520.00 to $558.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Mizuho set a $540.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Argus lifted their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $530.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, KeyCorp set a $503.00 target price on HCA Healthcare in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other HCA Healthcare news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $498.09, for a total transaction of $747,135.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 30,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,944,194.27. This trade represents a 4.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 3.8% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,959,336 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,113,662,000 after acquiring an additional 179,443 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,152,408,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1.8% in the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,065,225 shares of the company’s stock worth $880,199,000 after buying an additional 36,414 shares in the last quarter. Viking Global Investors LP increased its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 58.5% during the second quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 1,872,133 shares of the company’s stock valued at $717,214,000 after acquiring an additional 690,773 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in HCA Healthcare by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,124,511 shares of the company’s stock valued at $479,267,000 after acquiring an additional 8,478 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Stock Down 2.3%

Shares of HCA opened at $501.89 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $479.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $443.35. HCA Healthcare has a twelve month low of $295.00 and a twelve month high of $527.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $114.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.68, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.36.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The company reported $8.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.37 by $0.64. The company had revenue of $19.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.67 billion. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.97% and a negative return on equity of 409.11%. HCA Healthcare’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $6.22 earnings per share. HCA Healthcare has set its FY 2026 guidance at 29.100-31.500 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that HCA Healthcare will post 24.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be paid a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 17th. This is a positive change from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.15%.

HCA Healthcare Company Profile

HCA Healthcare is a for‑profit operator of healthcare facilities headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1968, the company owns and operates a network of hospitals and related healthcare facilities and has grown through organic expansion and acquisitions to become a large provider of inpatient and outpatient services.

The company’s core activities include the operation of acute care hospitals, freestanding surgical and emergency centers, and outpatient clinics. HCA’s services encompass inpatient care, surgical services, emergency medicine, diagnostic imaging and laboratory testing, and various outpatient and ambulatory care offerings.