HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) Hits New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $411.87 and last traded at $407.22, with a volume of 260978 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $395.78.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on HCA shares. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on HCA Healthcare in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $427.00 price objective for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $392.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $345.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. StockNews.com raised HCA Healthcare from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 1st. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on HCA Healthcare from $390.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, HCA Healthcare currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $365.65.

HCA Healthcare Stock Up 2.0 %

The company has a 50 day moving average of $390.17 and a 200-day moving average of $349.03. The company has a market capitalization of $107.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.40, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 27.11, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.94.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $5.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.53. The company had revenue of $17.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.05 billion. HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 553.13% and a net margin of 8.40%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.29 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 22.51 EPS for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given 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 yield of 0.65%. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is 13.16%.

Insider Activity

In other HCA Healthcare news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 8,358 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $385.42, for a total transaction of $3,221,340.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 29,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,438,494.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, SVP Kathleen M. Whalen sold 2,987 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $363.51, for a total value of $1,085,804.37. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,436,623.54. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 8,358 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $385.42, for a total transaction of $3,221,340.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 29,678 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,438,494.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 17,202 shares of company stock worth $6,407,273 in the last quarter. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HCA. Bangor Savings Bank lifted its position in HCA Healthcare by 112.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 85 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the second quarter valued at $27,000. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 284.0% during the 2nd quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 96 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Institutional investors 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.