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

HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $385.67.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on HCA Healthcare from $406.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $405.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $392.00 to $366.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $405.00 to $384.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th.

HCA Healthcare Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of HCA stock opened at $336.12 on Friday. HCA Healthcare has a 1 year low of $289.98 and a 1 year high of $417.14. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $322.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $341.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.75 billion, a PE ratio of 15.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.68.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period last year, the company posted $5.90 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that HCA Healthcare will post 24.98 EPS for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This is a positive change from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.11%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.59, for a total transaction of $3,075,250.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 15,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,971,757.08. The trade was a 38.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HCA Healthcare

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MML Investors Services LLC increased its stake in HCA Healthcare by 31.7% in the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 17,816 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,241,000 after acquiring an additional 4,285 shares during the period. Meritage Group LP bought a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $150,548,000. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC bought a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the fourth quarter valued at $18,044,000. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 3rd quarter valued at $869,000. Finally, NRI Wealth Management LC acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter worth about $2,896,000. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

HCA Healthcare Company Profile

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.