HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) Reaches New 1-Year High - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• HCA Healthcare's stock reached a new 52-week high of $439.54, closing recently at $438.71 with significant trading volume.
• Multiple analysts have adjusted their price targets for HCA, with UBS Group raising its target to $495.00 and Mizuho upping it to $475.00, reflecting strong confidence in the company's performance.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.72 per share, contributing to an annualized yield of 0.7% as well as maintaining a low dividend payout ratio of 12.11%.

HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $439.54 and last traded at $438.71, with a volume of 182673 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $432.01.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HCA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $404.00 to $401.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 28th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $425.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $438.00 to $495.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $460.00 target price on HCA Healthcare in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, HCA Healthcare presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $437.19.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

The firm's 50 day moving average is $411.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $379.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $103.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.50, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.40.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The company reported $6.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $18.49 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.50 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. HCA Healthcare has set its FY 2025 guidance at 25.500-27.000 EPS. Analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. HCA Healthcare's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling at HCA Healthcare

In other news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 3,836 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $418.84, for a total transaction of $1,606,670.24. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 31,503 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,194,716.52. This trade represents a 10.85% 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. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its position in HCA Healthcare by 8.9% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 18,130 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,727,000 after acquiring an additional 1,487 shares during the last quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 1,093 shares of the company's stock valued at $466,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,044 shares of the company's stock worth $871,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 4,976 shares of the company's stock worth $2,121,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Townsend & Associates Inc boosted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Townsend & Associates Inc now owns 41,755 shares of the company's stock worth $17,794,000 after buying an additional 1,149 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.

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