HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) Rating Lowered to "Hold" at Wall Street Zen

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report issued on Friday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on HCA. Baird R W lowered shares of HCA Healthcare from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Stephens raised shares of HCA Healthcare to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of HCA Healthcare from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $320.00 to $385.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Barclays set a $416.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Guggenheim began coverage on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $394.33.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

HCA stock traded up $1.34 during trading on Friday, reaching $379.00. The company had a trading volume of 1,554,834 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,478,315. 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 quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.19. The company has a market cap of $91.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.49. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $366.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $336.76.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $6.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.75 by $0.70. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.07% and a return on equity of 1,063.91%. The business had revenue of $18.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.36 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that HCA Healthcare will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at HCA Healthcare

In related news, COO Jon M. Foster sold 15,698 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $369.32, for a total transaction of $5,797,585.36. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 12,646 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,670,420.72. This represents a 55.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HCA Healthcare

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare in the first quarter valued at approximately $2,802,000. First Hawaiian Bank increased its stake in HCA Healthcare by 55.3% in the first quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 7,999 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,764,000 after purchasing an additional 2,849 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,765,000. BOS Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 7.5% in the first quarter. BOS Asset Management LLC now owns 2,760 shares of the company's stock valued at $954,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the period. Finally, WBI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,629,000. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.