Sciencast Management LP Buys New Shares in HCA Healthcare, Inc. $HCA

Key Points

• Sciencast Management LP has acquired 6,482 shares of HCA Healthcare, valued at approximately $2.24 million, as part of its new investment strategy.
• HCA Healthcare reported $6.84 earnings per share for the recent quarter, exceeding estimates, while also posting revenues of $18.61 billion, up 6.4% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.72, with a dividend yield of 0.7%, scheduled for payment on September 30th to record holders.

Sciencast Management LP bought a new stake in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 6,482 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,240,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 83.4% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,399,372 shares of the company's stock valued at $829,104,000 after purchasing an additional 1,091,416 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 1,865,771 shares of the company's stock valued at $560,011,000 after buying an additional 81,105 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 49.1% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,781,459 shares of the company's stock valued at $615,583,000 after buying an additional 587,036 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 40,527.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,703,907 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,887,850,000 after buying an additional 1,699,713 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,675,460 shares of the company's stock valued at $502,889,000 after buying an additional 188,093 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.73% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on HCA shares. Bank of America lifted their price target on HCA Healthcare from $375.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $444.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on HCA Healthcare from $390.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on HCA Healthcare from $404.00 to $401.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on HCA Healthcare from $416.00 to $390.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $403.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 3,836 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $418.84, for a total value of $1,606,670.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 31,503 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,194,716.52. This represents a 10.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HCA traded up $2.69 on Friday, hitting $405.54. The company had a trading volume of 761,184 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,129,364. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 52-week low of $289.98 and a 52-week high of $420.98. The business has a 50 day moving average of $382.88 and a 200 day moving average of $363.07. The company has a market cap of $94.89 billion, a PE ratio of 17.05, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.41.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 25th. The company reported $6.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.20 by $0.64. HCA Healthcare had a negative return on equity of 7,363.11% and a net margin of 8.21%.The business had revenue of $18.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.50 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. HCA Healthcare has set its FY 2025 guidance at 25.500-27.000 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. HCA Healthcare's dividend payout ratio is presently 12.11%.

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.