HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-four brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have issued a hold recommendation and fourteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $497.1364.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on HCA shares. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $540.00 to $520.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their target price on HCA Healthcare from $503.00 to $413.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Wall Street Zen downgraded HCA Healthcare from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on HCA Healthcare from $450.00 to $442.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $525.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Friday, April 24th.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

Shares of HCA stock opened at $409.98 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.95 billion, a PE ratio of 14.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.12. HCA Healthcare has a 1 year low of $330.00 and a 1 year high of $556.52. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $398.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $461.22.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 24th. The company reported $7.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.19 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $19.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.09 billion. HCA Healthcare had a negative return on equity of 295.93% and a net margin of 8.89%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $6.45 EPS. HCA Healthcare has set its FY 2026 guidance at 29.100-31.500 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that HCA Healthcare will post 30.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th were given a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is 10.73%.

HCA Healthcare News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting HCA Healthcare this week:

• Negative Sentiment: Barclays reaffirmed its equal weight rating but lowered its price target sharply to $427 from $496, signaling reduced expectations for HCA Healthcare’s near-term stock performance. Benzinga
• Negative Sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald cut its price target on HCA Healthcare to $525 from $588, reflecting a more cautious stance even while keeping an overweight rating. Benzinga
• Neutral Sentiment: Options-market activity is drawing attention because traders appear to be positioning for a larger move in HCA Healthcare stock, but the headline does not confirm a clear directional catalyst. Zacks
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary around HCA’s post-earnings valuation and hold/buy-sell debate adds uncertainty, but it mainly reinforces that investors are reassessing the stock after recent results. MSN
• Positive Sentiment: Longer-term bullish pieces highlight HCA Healthcare’s capacity-expansion strategy, ongoing revenue and profit growth, and sizable buyback capacity, which support the investment case over time. Zacks
• Positive Sentiment: Seeking Alpha argued that HCA remains attractively priced despite recent underperformance, citing improving fundamentals, rising revenue and profitability, and ongoing shareholder returns. Seeking Alpha

Institutional Trading of HCA Healthcare

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Community Trust & Investment Co. lifted its position in HCA Healthcare by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Community Trust & Investment Co. now owns 36,171 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,103,000 after buying an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank boosted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 44,201 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,234,000 after acquiring an additional 1,569 shares in the last quarter. PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab raised its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter. PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab now owns 41,916 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,343,000 after acquiring an additional 2,700 shares in the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 53.5% during the second quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,926 shares of the company’s stock valued at $751,000 after purchasing an additional 671 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. bought a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,628,000. 62.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About HCA Healthcare

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.