Royal Bank Of Canada Issues Pessimistic Forecast for HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) Stock Price

Key Points

• HCA Healthcare has received a price target of $401.00 from Royal Bank of Canada analysts, indicating a potential upside of 20.16% from its current price.
• The company recently reported $6.84 earnings per share for the quarter, surpassing estimates and showing a revenue increase of 6.4% year-over-year.
• There has been notable activity among institutional investors, with significant positions being acquired or increased, leading to institutional ownership rising to 62.73% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) had its target price reduced by stock analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada from $404.00 to $401.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage presently has an "outperform" rating on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 16.51% from the company's current price.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Stephens raised HCA Healthcare to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of HCA Healthcare from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $320.00 to $385.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Robert W. Baird reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $336.00 target price (down previously from $396.00) on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $390.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Baird R W cut shares of HCA Healthcare from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Nine 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $396.46.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

HCA stock traded up $3.63 during trading on Monday, hitting $344.17. The stock had a trading volume of 915,401 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,599,729. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.47, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.47. The company's 50-day moving average price is $372.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $346.42. HCA Healthcare has a twelve month low of $289.98 and a twelve month high of $417.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 25th. The company reported $6.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.20 by $0.64. The firm had revenue of $18.61 billion for 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.50 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that HCA Healthcare will post 24.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other HCA Healthcare news, COO Jon M. Foster sold 15,698 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $369.32, for a total value of $5,797,585.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 12,646 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,670,420.72. This represents a 55.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of HCA Healthcare

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. ORG Partners LLC increased its position in HCA Healthcare by 27.9% in the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 142 shares of the company's stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 0.4% during 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. Glenview Trust co raised its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 1,451 shares of the company's stock worth $501,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 3,175 shares of the company's stock worth $1,097,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 630 shares of the company's stock worth $241,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.