Zacks Research Equities Analysts Boost Earnings Estimates for HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) - Research analysts at Zacks Research boosted their Q2 2025 earnings estimates for HCA Healthcare in a research note issued to investors on Monday, April 8th. Zacks Research analyst Z. Masood now forecasts that the company will earn $5.15 per share for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $5.14. The consensus estimate for HCA Healthcare's current full-year earnings is $20.49 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for HCA Healthcare's Q1 2026 earnings at $5.84 EPS.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $5.90 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.85. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.07% and a return on equity of 996.30%. The business had revenue of $17.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.64 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of HCA Healthcare from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and increased their price target for the company from $277.00 to $301.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $356.00 price target for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $335.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $303.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $320.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $311.47.

HCA Healthcare Stock Down 0.2 %

HCA traded down $0.51 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $327.25. 641,216 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,049,614. The stock has a market cap of $86.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.20, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 35.07. The stock's 50-day moving average is $319.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $278.37. HCA Healthcare has a 1-year low of $215.96 and a 1-year high of $335.83.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HCA Healthcare

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Stone House Investment Management LLC bought a new position in HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 92.9% in the 3rd quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC now owns 108 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Centerpoint Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Chad J. Wasserman sold 344 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $321.97, for a total transaction of $110,757.68. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,452 shares in the company, valued at $789,470.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, SVP Chad J. Wasserman sold 876 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.25, for a total value of $289,299.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $520,474. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Chad J. Wasserman sold 344 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $321.97, for a total transaction of $110,757.68. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,452 shares in the company, valued at $789,470.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,840 shares of company stock worth $4,588,869 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. This is an increase from HCA Healthcare's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. HCA Healthcare's dividend payout ratio is presently 13.91%.

HCA Healthcare announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, January 30th that permits the company to repurchase $6.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.