Leerink Partnrs Raises Earnings Estimates for HCA Healthcare

Key Points

• Leerink Partners has raised its Q4 2025 earnings estimate for HCA Healthcare to $7.52 per share, reflecting increased optimism compared to the previous estimate of $7.01.
• HCA Healthcare reported a quarterly earnings of $6.84 per share, surpassing analysts' expectations by $0.64, with revenue reaching $18.61 billion.
• Several research firms have recently downgraded HCA Healthcare's stock ratings, with Wolfe Research lowering it from "outperform" to "peer perform."

HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) - Equities research analysts at Leerink Partnrs raised their Q4 2025 EPS estimates for shares of HCA Healthcare in a report released on Sunday, July 27th. Leerink Partnrs analyst W. Mayo now expects that the company will post earnings per share of $7.52 for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $7.01. 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 Q1 2026 earnings at $6.51 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $6.81 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $5.86 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $7.54 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $26.72 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $30.16 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $34.98 EPS.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on HCA. Guggenheim started coverage on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued a "neutral" rating for the company. Stephens raised HCA Healthcare to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised HCA Healthcare from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $320.00 to $385.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on HCA Healthcare from $410.00 to $400.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, Robert W. Baird reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $336.00 price target (down from $396.00) on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $396.46.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

NYSE HCA traded up $2.85 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $356.84. The company had a trading volume of 1,369,756 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,559,973. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07. The company has a market capitalization of $85.84 billion, a PE ratio of 15.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.39. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $371.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $346.78. HCA Healthcare has a twelve month low of $289.98 and a twelve month high of $417.14.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 25th. The company reported $6.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.20 by $0.64. The company had revenue of $18.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.49 billion. HCA Healthcare had a negative return on equity of 7,363.11% and a net margin of 8.21%. HCA Healthcare's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.50 EPS.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. HCA Healthcare's payout ratio is currently 12.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other HCA Healthcare news, COO Jon M. Foster sold 15,698 shares of HCA Healthcare 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 12,646 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,670,420.72. This trade represents a 55.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HCA Healthcare

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of HCA. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Cheviot Value Management LLC acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

HCA Healthcare Company Profile

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.