HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) Stock Price Down 6% - Here's Why

HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report)'s share price fell 6% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $357.08 and last traded at $361.23. 400,171 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 1,439,434 shares. The stock had previously closed at $384.34.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HCA has been the topic of a number of research reports. Guggenheim started coverage on HCA Healthcare in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $384.00 to $376.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Baird R W cut shares of HCA Healthcare from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of HCA Healthcare from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Barclays set a $416.00 target price on HCA Healthcare and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $392.47.

HCA Healthcare Stock Down 3.1%

The stock's fifty day moving average is $355.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $331.71. The firm has a market cap of $89.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $6.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.75 by $0.70. HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 586.47% and a net margin of 8.16%. The business had revenue of $18.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.36 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. HCA Healthcare's payout ratio is currently 12.81%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Jon M. Foster sold 15,698 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $369.32, for a total transaction of $5,797,585.36. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 12,646 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,670,420.72. This trade represents a 55.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of HCA Healthcare

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 0.4% in the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 8,077 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,791,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. Glenview Trust co raised its position in HCA Healthcare by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 1,451 shares of the company's stock valued at $501,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC grew its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 3,175 shares of the company's stock worth $1,097,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE lifted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 1,039 shares of the company's stock worth $312,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Evergreen Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in HCA Healthcare by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 12,787 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,838,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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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