California Public Employees Retirement System Boosts Position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. $HCA

Key Points

• CalPERS increased its HCA stake by 5.6% in the first quarter, buying 20,119 more shares and lifting its holdings to 378,879 shares worth about $179.3 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but constructive, with HCA carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $486.14, even as several firms trimmed their targets recently.
• HCA’s latest results were slightly below earnings expectations, reporting $7.15 EPS versus $7.19 expected, while revenue came in roughly in line at $19.11 billion and rose 4.3% year over year.

California Public Employees Retirement System raised its position in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) by 5.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 378,879 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 20,119 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned 0.17% of HCA Healthcare worth $179,301,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in HCA Healthcare in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,262,513,000. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter worth $374,037,000. Viking Global Investors LP lifted its position in HCA Healthcare by 58.5% during the second quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 1,872,133 shares of the company's stock valued at $717,214,000 after purchasing an additional 690,773 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in HCA Healthcare by 4,545.5% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 663,337 shares of the company's stock worth $309,686,000 after buying an additional 649,058 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1,097.4% during the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 288,017 shares of the company's stock valued at $134,446,000 after buying an additional 263,963 shares in the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HCA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $436.00 to $428.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $427.00 to $402.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group set a $450.00 price target on HCA Healthcare in a research note on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen lowered HCA Healthcare from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Argus decreased their target price on HCA Healthcare from $560.00 to $500.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $486.14.

HCA Healthcare Stock Down 3.7%

HCA Healthcare stock opened at $371.60 on Friday. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 52-week low of $330.00 and a 52-week high of $556.52. The company has a market cap of $82.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.78, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.12. The firm's fifty day moving average is $392.25 and its 200 day moving average is $457.05.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The company reported $7.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $7.19 by ($0.04). HCA Healthcare had a negative return on equity of 295.93% and a net margin of 8.89%.The business had revenue of $19.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $6.45 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. HCA Healthcare has set its FY 2026 guidance at 29.100-31.500 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 29.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th were given a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. HCA Healthcare's payout ratio is currently 10.73%.

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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