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

Key Points

• HCA Healthcare has a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy” from 24 brokerages, with 14 buy ratings, 8 hold ratings, and 2 sell ratings. The average 1-year price target is about $497.14.
• Several analysts cut their price targets recently, including Stephens, RBC, Argus, Leerink Partners, and Barclays, signaling more cautious near-term expectations even as some firms kept positive ratings.
• The company recently reported Q1 earnings of $7.15 per share, slightly below estimates, while revenue of $19.11 billion edged above forecasts and rose 4.3% year over year. HCA also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.78 per share, equal to a 0.8% annualized yield.

Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-four ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $497.1364.

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stephens lowered their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $560.00 to $530.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on HCA Healthcare from $593.00 to $534.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 27th. Argus cut their price target on HCA Healthcare from $560.00 to $500.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 4th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of HCA Healthcare from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Leerink Partners cut their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $573.00 to $500.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 27th.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

Shares of HCA stock opened at $409.98 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $90.95 billion, a PE ratio of 14.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.12. HCA Healthcare has a 1 year low of $330.00 and a 1 year high of $556.52. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $398.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $461.22.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The company reported $7.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $19.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.09 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.45 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. HCA Healthcare has set its FY 2026 guidance at 29.100-31.500 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that HCA Healthcare will post 30.07 earnings per share for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

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

Key HCA Healthcare News

Here are the key news stories impacting HCA Healthcare this week:

• Negative Sentiment: Barclays reaffirmed its equal weight rating but lowered its price target sharply to $427 from $496, signaling reduced expectations for HCA Healthcare’s near-term stock performance. Benzinga
• Negative Sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald cut its price target on HCA Healthcare to $525 from $588, reflecting a more cautious stance even while keeping an overweight rating. Benzinga
• Neutral Sentiment: Options-market activity is drawing attention because traders appear to be positioning for a larger move in HCA Healthcare stock, but the headline does not confirm a clear directional catalyst. Zacks
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary around HCA’s post-earnings valuation and hold/buy-sell debate adds uncertainty, but it mainly reinforces that investors are reassessing the stock after recent results. MSN
• Positive Sentiment: Longer-term bullish pieces highlight HCA Healthcare’s capacity-expansion strategy, ongoing revenue and profit growth, and sizable buyback capacity, which support the investment case over time. Zacks
• Positive Sentiment: Seeking Alpha argued that HCA remains attractively priced despite recent underperformance, citing improving fundamentals, rising revenue and profitability, and ongoing shareholder returns. Seeking Alpha

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the first quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 213.0% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 72 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.73% of the company's stock.

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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