Paloma Partners Management Co Makes New $394,000 Investment in HCA Healthcare, Inc. $HCA

Key Points

• Paloma Partners Management Co has made a new investment in HCA Healthcare, acquiring 1,140 shares valued at approximately $394,000 during the 1st quarter.
• Several hedge funds significantly increased their holdings in HCA Healthcare, with GAMMA Investing LLC raising its stake by 40,527.3% and now holding shares worth nearly $5.9 billion.
• HCA Healthcare's stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with an average price target set at $401.83, reflecting various analyst assessments, including a recent upgrade to "strong-buy" by Stephens.

Paloma Partners Management Co bought a new position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 1,140 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $394,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 8,077 shares of the company's stock worth $2,791,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 3,175 shares of the company's stock worth $1,097,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 872 shares of the company's stock worth $301,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,904 shares of the company's stock worth $658,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 858 shares of the company's stock worth $297,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.73% of the company's stock.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

Shares of HCA stock traded up $9.09 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $420.68. The stock had a trading volume of 1,059,770 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,054,336. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a one year low of $289.98 and a one year high of $420.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $380.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $359.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.68, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.41.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The company reported $6.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $18.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.50 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. HCA Healthcare has set its FY 2025 guidance at 25.500-27.000 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on HCA shares. Stephens upgraded HCA Healthcare to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Bank of America downgraded HCA Healthcare from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $394.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. 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. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on HCA Healthcare from $410.00 to $400.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $385.00 to $375.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $401.83.

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.