Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Raises Stock Holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Key Points

• Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its stake in HCA Healthcare, Inc. by 117.4% during the first quarter, holding 64,990 shares valued at approximately $22.5 million.
• HCA Healthcare reported $6.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the latest quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations of $6.20, and its revenue increased by 6.4% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.72 per share, to be paid on September 30th, representing a yield of 0.8% with a payout ratio of 12.11%.

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) by 117.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 64,990 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 35,092 shares during the quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI's holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $22,457,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,021,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter worth $540,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 209,687 shares of the company's stock worth $62,938,000 after acquiring an additional 26,208 shares during the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 19.0% in the 4th quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 794 shares of the company's stock worth $238,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trek Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter worth $240,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.73% of the company's stock.

HCA Healthcare Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of HCA traded up $8.51 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $381.84. The company had a trading volume of 1,015,992 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,587,259. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $369.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $349.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.39. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 1 year low of $289.98 and a 1 year high of $417.14.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $18.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.49 billion. HCA Healthcare had a negative return on equity of 7,363.11% and a net margin of 8.21%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.50 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

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 dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. HCA Healthcare's payout ratio is presently 12.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Jon M. Foster sold 15,698 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $369.32, for a total transaction of $5,797,585.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 12,646 shares in the company, valued at $4,670,420.72. The trade was a 55.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Stephens raised HCA Healthcare to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised HCA Healthcare from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $320.00 to $385.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Bank of America downgraded HCA Healthcare from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $394.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Baird R W downgraded HCA Healthcare from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised HCA Healthcare from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 5th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $395.69.

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.