HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) shares hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $417.45 and last traded at $417.45, with a volume of 1083 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $415.54.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $376.00 to $396.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. StockNews.com upgraded HCA Healthcare from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $392.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. KeyCorp initiated coverage on HCA Healthcare in a research note on Friday, October 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $475.00 target price for the company. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $390.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 19th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, HCA Healthcare has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $365.65.

HCA Healthcare Stock Up 0.5 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $109.34 billion, a PE ratio of 20.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 27.11. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $392.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $350.50.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $5.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.53. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.40% and a return on equity of 553.13%. The company had revenue of $17.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.05 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.29 EPS. HCA Healthcare’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 22.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is presently 13.16%.

Insider Activity at HCA Healthcare

In other news, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 1,857 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.05, for a total transaction of $659,327.85. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 17,755 shares in the company, valued at $6,303,912.75. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Christopher F. Wyatt sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.20, for a total value of $1,440,800.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 40,449 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,569,729.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 1,857 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.05, for a total value of $659,327.85. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 17,755 shares in the company, valued at $6,303,912.75. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 17,202 shares of company stock valued at $6,407,273. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HCA Healthcare

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter valued at $223,000. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 3,879 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,294,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the first quarter worth $5,505,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in HCA Healthcare in the 1st quarter worth $58,000. 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.