Robert W. Baird Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) Stock

Key Points

• HCA Healthcare's price target has been raised to $423.00 by Robert W. Baird, representing an 8.09% upside from its previous close, while maintaining a "neutral" rating on the stock.
• In addition to Baird's upgrade, several brokerages have adjusted their price targets, with Morgan Stanley lowering it to $400.00 and Bank of America downgrading to a "neutral" rating with a target of $394.00.
• HCA Healthcare reported $6.84 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, and its revenue increased by 6.4% year-over-year.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) had its price target increased by research analysts at Robert W. Baird from $380.00 to $423.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "neutral" rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 6.86% from the stock's current price.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on HCA. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on HCA Healthcare from $410.00 to $400.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Stephens raised HCA Healthcare to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Wall Street Zen raised HCA Healthcare from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on HCA Healthcare from $416.00 to $390.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $398.58.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

Shares of HCA traded up $2.18 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $395.83. The stock had a trading volume of 1,251,407 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,541,143. The company has a market cap of $92.62 billion, a PE ratio of 16.64, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.39. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $370.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $351.63. 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 fifty-two week low of $289.98 and a fifty-two week high of $417.14.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 25th. The company reported $6.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $18.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.50 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that HCA Healthcare will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HCA Healthcare

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Evergreen Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 15.3% in the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 1,284 shares of the company's stock valued at $492,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the 2nd quarter worth about $196,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 40,867 shares of the company's stock worth $15,591,000 after acquiring an additional 2,169 shares during the period. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury grew its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 14.8% in the 2nd quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 80,921 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,001,000 after buying an additional 10,408 shares during the period. Finally, Keel Point LLC grew its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 11.1% in the 2nd quarter. Keel Point LLC now owns 1,745 shares of the company's stock valued at $669,000 after buying an additional 174 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.