HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus on HCA Healthcare, with 14 buy, eight hold and one sell rating among 23 analysts. The average 12-month price target is $462.64.
• HCA reported quarterly EPS of $7.59, narrowly exceeding estimates, while revenue rose 8.7% year over year to $20.23 billion, also above expectations.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.78 per share, equivalent to $3.12 annually and a 0.7% yield; institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.73% of the stock.

HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-three analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $462.6364.

Several analysts have recently issued reports on HCA shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $369.00 to $381.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Raymond James Financial set a $528.00 price target on HCA Healthcare in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $520.00 to $485.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $435.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Monday, July 27th.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HCA opened at $419.19 on Friday. The firm's 50-day moving average is $400.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $441.63. HCA Healthcare has a 1 year low of $353.99 and a 1 year high of $556.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.75 billion, a PE ratio of 14.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.10.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The company reported $7.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.56 by $0.03. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.77% and a negative return on equity of 244.79%. The firm had revenue of $20.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.76 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.84 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that HCA Healthcare will post 29.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 16th. HCA Healthcare's dividend payout ratio is currently 10.45%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HCA Healthcare

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 38,348.7% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 89,141,330 shares of the company's stock worth $34,755,313,000 after buying an additional 88,909,485 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the second quarter valued at $5,069,974,000. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,566,643 shares of the company's stock worth $3,532,563,000 after purchasing an additional 76,039 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,999,422 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,334,040,000 after purchasing an additional 40,086 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in HCA Healthcare by 20.5% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,707,473 shares of the company's stock worth $1,835,397,000 after buying an additional 799,761 shares during the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

HCA Healthcare Company Profile

HCA Healthcare is a for‑profit operator of healthcare facilities headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1968, the company owns and operates a network of hospitals and related healthcare facilities and has grown through organic expansion and acquisitions to become a large provider of inpatient and outpatient services.

The company's core activities include the operation of acute care hospitals, freestanding surgical and emergency centers, and outpatient clinics. HCA's services encompass inpatient care, surgical services, emergency medicine, diagnostic imaging and laboratory testing, and various outpatient and ambulatory care offerings.

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