HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) Price Target Lowered to $390.00 at Barclays

Key Points

• Barclays has downgraded HCA Healthcare's price target from $416.00 to $390.00, maintaining an "overweight" rating on the stock, which suggests a potential upside of 17.04% from its current price.
• The recent quarterly earnings report revealed that HCA Healthcare exceeded analyst estimates with $6.84 earnings per share, beating expectations of $6.20.
• Despite the mixed ratings from various analysts, HCA Healthcare maintains a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy", with a consensus target price of $396.46.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) had its price objective cut by Barclays from $416.00 to $390.00 in a research note released on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on HCA. Stephens upgraded HCA Healthcare to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded HCA Healthcare from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 5th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $410.00 to $400.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Guggenheim began coverage on HCA Healthcare in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued a "neutral" rating for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $336.00 price target (down previously from $396.00) on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $396.46.

HCA Healthcare Stock Up 0.1%

HCA stock traded up $0.18 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $355.24. 803,278 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,606,225. The company has a market cap of $85.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.47. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $371.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $346.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07. HCA Healthcare has a 52 week low of $289.98 and a 52 week high of $417.14.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The company reported $6.84 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.20 by $0.64. The company had revenue of $18.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.49 billion. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.21% and a negative return on equity of 7,363.11%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.50 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. HCA Healthcare's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.11%.

Insider Transactions at HCA Healthcare

In other HCA Healthcare news, COO Jon M. Foster sold 15,698 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief operating officer owned 12,646 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,670,420.72. This trade represents a 55.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HCA. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 53.9% during the first quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 4,630 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,600,000 after acquiring an additional 1,622 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 26.9% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,141 shares of the company's stock valued at $395,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 2.5% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,314 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,491,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 17.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,931 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,704,000 after acquiring an additional 737 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 145.3% during the first quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 3,550 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,227,000 after acquiring an additional 2,103 shares in the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.