JPMorgan Chase & Co. Issues Positive Forecast for HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) Stock Price

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its target price for HCA Healthcare stock from $360.00 to $370.00, indicating a potential upside of 1.67% from its previous close and maintaining a "neutral" rating.
• Several analysts have shown optimism towards the stock, with Stephens upgrading it to a "strong-buy" and Truist Financial increasing their price target to $415.00 with a "buy" rating.
• HCA reported earnings per share of $6.84 for the last quarter, beating expectations, while anticipating a total EPS of 24.98 for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) had its target price boosted by research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $360.00 to $370.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "neutral" rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price objective suggests a potential upside of 1.67% from the stock's previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Stephens upgraded shares of HCA Healthcare to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Guggenheim started coverage on HCA Healthcare in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $390.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Robert W. Baird reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $336.00 price target (down previously from $396.00) on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded HCA Healthcare from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $395.69.

HCA Healthcare Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of NYSE HCA traded up $6.96 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $363.93. The stock had a trading volume of 326,531 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,600,655. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.98. The company has a market capitalization of $87.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.39. HCA Healthcare has a 52 week low of $289.98 and a 52 week high of $417.14. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $370.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $347.68.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 25th. The company reported $6.84 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.49 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.50 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare will post 24.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other HCA Healthcare news, COO Jon M. Foster sold 15,698 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 12,646 shares in the company, valued at $4,670,420.72. This represents a 55.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cheviot Value Management LLC bought a new position in HCA Healthcare in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Saudi Central Bank bought a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the first quarter worth $26,000. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare in the second quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Chung Wu Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. 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.

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