HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) Price Target Raised to $359.00 at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) had its price objective raised by Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft from $330.00 to $359.00 in a research report report published on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the stock.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on HCA. Barclays assumed coverage on HCA Healthcare in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an overweight rating and a $356.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer restated an outperform rating and issued a $315.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. StockNews.com lowered HCA Healthcare from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an overweight rating and set a $335.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on HCA Healthcare from $320.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, HCA Healthcare presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $314.05.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

HCA stock traded down $4.46 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $322.79. 994,870 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,048,842. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $319.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $279.18. HCA Healthcare has a 1-year low of $215.96 and a 1-year high of $335.83. The company has a market cap of $85.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.01, 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.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $5.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.85. HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 996.30% and a net margin of 8.07%. The firm had revenue of $17.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.51 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.64 EPS. The business's revenue was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare will post 20.49 earnings per share for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. This is an increase from HCA Healthcare's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. HCA Healthcare's payout ratio is currently 13.91%.

HCA Healthcare announced that its board 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 buy up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at HCA Healthcare

In related news, SVP Chad J. Wasserman sold 876 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.25, for a total value of $289,299.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,576 shares of the company's stock, valued at $520,474. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Sammie S. Mosier sold 1,645 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $312.00, for a total transaction of $513,240.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,646 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,385,552. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Chad J. Wasserman sold 876 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.25, for a total value of $289,299.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $520,474. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 14,840 shares of company stock valued at $4,588,869. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HCA Healthcare

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. abrdn plc boosted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 4.8% during the third quarter. abrdn plc now owns 164,419 shares of the company's stock worth $40,444,000 after acquiring an additional 7,476 shares during the period. Soros Fund Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the third quarter worth approximately $10,085,000. DNB Asset Management AS boosted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 14.1% during the fourth quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 60,682 shares of the company's stock worth $16,425,000 after acquiring an additional 7,476 shares during the period. Comerica Bank boosted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 623.3% in the third quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 43,502 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,701,000 after buying an additional 37,488 shares during the period. Finally, Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning bought a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,100,000. Institutional investors own 62.73% of the company's stock.

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.