HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) Stock Price Target Raised at Royal Bank Of Canada

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada raised HCA Healthcare’s price target to $521 from $496 and maintained an “outperform” rating, implying approximately 8.45% upside.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive overall, with 16 Buy, seven Hold, and one Sell rating; MarketBeat’s consensus is “Moderate Buy” with a $475.70 target.
• HCA exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $7.22 in earnings per share versus the $6.65 consensus and $19.85 billion in revenue, up 3.6% year over year.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) had its target price lifted by equities research analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada from $496.00 to $521.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "outperform" rating on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 8.45% from the company's current price.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on HCA. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on HCA Healthcare from $558.00 to $485.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $520.00 to $485.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $490.00 to $425.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Barclays increased their target price on HCA Healthcare from $387.00 to $401.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Mizuho set a $495.00 price objective on HCA Healthcare in a research note on Wednesday. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $475.70.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

Shares of HCA traded up $2.31 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $480.38. 398,531 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,341,891. The stock has a market capitalization of $104.00 billion, a PE ratio of 15.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.10. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $436.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $444.90. HCA Healthcare has a 52-week low of $353.99 and a 52-week high of $556.52.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The company reported $7.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.65 by $0.57. The firm had revenue of $19.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.33 billion. HCA Healthcare had a negative return on equity of 198.52% and a net margin of 8.61%. HCA Healthcare's quarterly revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $6.96 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that HCA Healthcare will post 30.20 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its position in HCA Healthcare by 171.7% in the 1st quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 6,242 shares of the company's stock worth $2,954,000 after purchasing an additional 3,945 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 27.5% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 467,796 shares of the company's stock valued at $221,380,000 after purchasing an additional 100,764 shares during the period. SEB Asset Management AB purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the first quarter worth about $75,534,000. Darsana Capital Partners LP lifted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 46.7% in the second quarter. Darsana Capital Partners LP now owns 1,100,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $428,879,000 after acquiring an additional 350,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fund 1 Investments LLC purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $975,000. 62.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

HCA Healthcare Company Profile

HCA Healthcare, Inc is a healthcare services company that operates hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, emergency care facilities, physician practices and other healthcare sites. Its facilities provide a broad range of services, including acute and emergency care, surgery, cardiology, oncology, women's and children's services, behavioral health and outpatient care.

The company serves patients primarily across the United States through a network of healthcare facilities in numerous states.

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