HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) Hits New 1-Year High at $358.22

HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $358.22 and last traded at $356.80, with a volume of 248384 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $354.78.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on HCA. Robert W. Baird began coverage on HCA Healthcare in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $396.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $327.00 to $332.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $329.00 to $378.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Baird R W upgraded shares of HCA Healthcare to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $371.00 to $360.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $341.12.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $93.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 27.11, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.06. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $330.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $323.11.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $5.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.53. HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 553.13% and a net margin of 8.40%. The business had revenue of $17.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.29 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 22.43 earnings per share for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 1,600 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.00, for a total value of $494,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 34,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,544,316. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 1,863 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.18, for a total value of $607,673.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,612 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,397,042.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 1,600 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.00, for a total transaction of $494,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 34,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,544,316. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 12,397 shares of company stock valued at $3,921,929. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Bangor Savings Bank grew its position in HCA Healthcare by 112.5% in the second quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 85 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC grew its position in HCA Healthcare by 284.0% in the second quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 96 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.