Short Interest in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Increases By 11.9%

HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,020,000 shares, an increase of 11.9% from the May 15th total of 2,700,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,040,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.9 days. Approximately 1.6% of the company’s shares are sold short.

HCA Healthcare Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:HCA traded down $2.76 during trading on Friday, hitting $337.47. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 747,441 shares, compared to its average volume of 935,055. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $320.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $313.21. The company has a market capitalization of $88.39 billion, a PE ratio of 16.82, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.69. HCA Healthcare has a fifty-two week low of $215.96 and a fifty-two week high of $343.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.26, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.16.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $5.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.01 by $0.35. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.20% and a return on equity of 674.49%. The firm had revenue of $17.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.93 earnings per share. HCA Healthcare’s quarterly revenue was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that HCA Healthcare will post 20.92 EPS for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is currently 13.16%.

Insider Activity

In other HCA Healthcare news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 1,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.00, for a total transaction of $494,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 34,124 shares in the company, valued at $10,544,316. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other HCA Healthcare news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 1,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.00, for a total transaction of $494,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 34,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,544,316. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Chad J. Wasserman sold 344 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $321.97, for a total value of $110,757.68. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,452 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $789,470.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 13,617 shares of company stock valued at $4,321,986. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HCA Healthcare

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 461 shares of the company’s stock worth $125,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 26.7% in the 4th quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. increased its stake in HCA Healthcare by 1.4% during the first quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 2,642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $881,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its position in HCA Healthcare by 1.0% in the first quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 3,879 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,294,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital boosted its position in HCA Healthcare by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 2,527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $711,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $396.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on HCA Healthcare from $322.00 to $329.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $371.00 to $360.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $303.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded HCA Healthcare from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $325.59.

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.