HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) - Leerink Partnrs raised their Q2 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for HCA Healthcare in a research note issued to investors on Sunday, April 28th. Leerink Partnrs analyst W. Mayo now anticipates that the company will post earnings per share of $5.44 for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $4.98. The consensus estimate for HCA Healthcare's current full-year earnings is $20.58 per share. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for HCA Healthcare's Q3 2024 earnings at $4.68 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $21.18 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $6.36 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $6.49 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $5.63 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $25.27 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $27.81 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $30.56 EPS.
Several other research firms have also issued reports on HCA. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $303.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered HCA Healthcare from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $277.00 to $301.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on HCA Healthcare from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday. TD Cowen dropped their price target on HCA Healthcare from $371.00 to $360.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on HCA Healthcare from $330.00 to $359.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $316.59.
Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on HCA Healthcare
HCA Healthcare Stock Performance
Shares of HCA Healthcare stock traded down $1.62 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $309.80. The company had a trading volume of 955,767 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,106,681. HCA Healthcare has a one year low of $215.96 and a one year high of $335.83. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $323.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $296.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.26, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market cap of $81.94 billion, a PE ratio of 15.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.65.
HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $5.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.01 by $0.35. HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 674.49% and a net margin of 8.20%. The firm had revenue of $17.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.81 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.93 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On HCA Healthcare
Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Stone House Investment Management LLC bought a new position in HCA Healthcare in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Centerpoint Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. LifeSteps Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. 62.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Insider Buying and Selling at HCA Healthcare
In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Kathleen M. Whalen sold 4,262 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.21, for a total transaction of $1,305,067.02. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 10,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,138,652.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Kathleen M. Whalen sold 4,262 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.21, for a total value of $1,305,067.02. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 10,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,138,652.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 3,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.79, for a total value of $981,728.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,929 shares in the company, valued at $7,647,967.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 14,840 shares of company stock valued at $4,588,869. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. HCA Healthcare's payout ratio is 13.16%.
HCA Healthcare announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, January 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $6.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.
About HCA Healthcare
(
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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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