HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) Stock Rating Lowered by Bank of America

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at Bank of America from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. They presently have a $394.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America's price target would indicate a potential upside of 8.46% from the stock's previous close.

HCA has been the subject of several other research reports. Barclays set a $416.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded HCA Healthcare from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 5th. Robert W. Baird reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $336.00 price target (down previously from $396.00) on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Guggenheim started coverage on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded HCA Healthcare from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $320.00 to $385.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $399.21.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

Shares of HCA Healthcare stock traded up $0.68 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $363.26. 848,688 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,455,142. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07. The company has a market cap of $87.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.47. HCA Healthcare has a fifty-two week low of $289.98 and a fifty-two week high of $417.14. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $376.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $343.13.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $6.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.75 by $0.70. The firm had revenue of $18.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.26 billion. HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 1,063.91% and a net margin of 8.07%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.36 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that HCA Healthcare will post 24.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Jon M. Foster sold 15,698 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 12,646 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,670,420.72. This trade represents a 55.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,021,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 45.5% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 745 shares of the company's stock worth $223,000 after buying an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 15,623 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,689,000 after acquiring an additional 2,002 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in HCA Healthcare by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 39,067 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,724,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp raised its stake in HCA Healthcare by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 29,268 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,785,000 after buying an additional 3,383 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.73% of the company's stock.

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.