Leerink Partnrs Raises Earnings Estimates for HCA Healthcare

Key Points

• HCA Healthcare's Q3 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates have been raised to $5.99 by Leerink Partners, increasing from $5.84, with a full-year consensus of $24.98 EPS.
• The company reported a Q2 EPS of $6.84, beating analyst estimates by $0.64, and a revenue of $18.61 billion, showing a 6.4% year-over-year increase.
• A quarterly dividend of $0.72 has been announced, representing a 0.85% dividend yield, with a payout ratio of 12.11% expected.

HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) - Equities research analysts at Leerink Partnrs upped their Q3 2025 earnings per share estimates for HCA Healthcare in a note issued to investors on Sunday, July 27th. Leerink Partnrs analyst W. Mayo now forecasts that the company will earn $5.99 per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $5.84. The consensus estimate for HCA Healthcare's current full-year earnings is $24.98 per share. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for HCA Healthcare's FY2025 earnings at $26.81 EPS and FY2029 earnings at $41.22 EPS.

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 the consensus estimate of $6.20 by $0.64. The firm had revenue of $18.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.49 billion. HCA Healthcare had a negative return on equity of 7,363.11% and a net margin of 8.21%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.50 earnings per share.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on HCA. Robert W. Baird reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $336.00 target price (down previously from $396.00) on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Wolfe Research lowered HCA Healthcare from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Monday. Truist Financial increased their target price on HCA Healthcare from $390.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Baird R W downgraded HCA Healthcare from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on HCA Healthcare from $416.00 to $390.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $396.46.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

NYSE:HCA traded up $2.85 on Tuesday, hitting $356.84. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,354,052 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,607,864. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07. HCA Healthcare has a one year low of $289.98 and a one year high of $417.14. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $371.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $346.78.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at HCA Healthcare

In related news, COO Jon M. Foster sold 15,698 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its position in HCA Healthcare by 53.9% during the 1st quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 4,630 shares of the company's stock worth $1,600,000 after purchasing an additional 1,622 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in HCA Healthcare by 26.9% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,141 shares of the company's stock worth $395,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,314 shares of the company's stock worth $1,491,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 17.6% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,931 shares of the company's stock worth $1,704,000 after acquiring an additional 737 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 145.3% in the 1st quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 3,550 shares of the company's stock worth $1,227,000 after acquiring an additional 2,103 shares in the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is 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.