HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) - Stock analysts at Zacks Research lowered their Q3 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for HCA Healthcare in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, May 9th. Zacks Research analyst Z. Masood now anticipates that the company will post earnings per share of $4.43 for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $4.45. The consensus estimate for HCA Healthcare's current full-year earnings is $20.74 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for HCA Healthcare's FY2024 earnings at $20.68 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $5.65 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $5.32 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $6.45 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $5.91 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $25.09 EPS.
HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $5.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.01 by $0.35. HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 674.49% and a net margin of 8.20%. The business had revenue of $17.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.81 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.93 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year.
Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on HCA Healthcare from $322.00 to $329.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on HCA Healthcare from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. StockNews.com cut HCA Healthcare from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Truist Financial lifted their target price on HCA Healthcare from $320.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on HCA Healthcare from $356.00 to $367.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, HCA Healthcare has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $316.59.
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HCA Healthcare Stock Up 1.5 %
HCA Healthcare stock traded up $4.76 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $326.65. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,030,690 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,095,875. HCA Healthcare has a fifty-two week low of $215.96 and a fifty-two week high of $335.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.26. The company has a market cap of $85.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.66. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $321.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $299.91.
Institutional Trading of HCA Healthcare
A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HCA. Stone House Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Centerpoint Advisors LLC purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. 62.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other HCA Healthcare news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 1,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.00, for a total value of $494,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 34,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,544,316. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Chad J. Wasserman sold 876 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.25, for a total transaction of $289,299.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,576 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $520,474. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 1,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.00, for a total transaction of $494,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 34,124 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,544,316. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,793 shares of company stock worth $1,198,033 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.
HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors 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 dividend yield of 0.81%. HCA Healthcare's dividend payout ratio is currently 13.16%.
HCA Healthcare announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $6.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board 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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