Short Interest in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Declines By 7.9%

HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,400,000 shares, a decline of 7.9% from the December 15th total of 4,780,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,470,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.0 days. Approximately 2.4% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Phillip G. Billington sold 3,897 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total value of $1,363,950.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 52,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,445,700. The trade was a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Erol R. Akdamar sold 2,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $353.00, for a total value of $1,023,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,843 shares in the company, valued at $2,415,579. This represents a 29.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. bought a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the second quarter worth $33,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the third quarter worth $39,000. Canoe Financial LP bought a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the third quarter worth $41,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in HCA Healthcare in the third quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in HCA Healthcare in the third quarter valued at $44,000. Institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HCA traded up $1.16 during trading on Friday, hitting $310.60. 1,206,562 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,158,913. The company has a market cap of $78.68 billion, a PE ratio of 13.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.64. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $317.56 and a 200 day moving average of $352.81. HCA Healthcare has a 52-week low of $278.50 and a 52-week high of $417.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 48.71, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on HCA shares. StockNews.com lowered HCA Healthcare from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $390.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Barclays decreased their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $396.00 to $392.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 8th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $450.00 to $440.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their target price on HCA Healthcare from $430.00 to $390.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $385.27.

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.