HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) Shares Gap Down to $311.03

HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $311.03, but opened at $303.01. HCA Healthcare shares last traded at $297.78, with a volume of 376,849 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of HCA Healthcare from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $330.00 to $359.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $335.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Barclays began coverage on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $356.00 target price for the company. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of HCA Healthcare from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $277.00 to $301.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $314.05.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $78.55 billion, a PE ratio of 15.63, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 35.07. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $320.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $280.82.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $5.90 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $17.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.64 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 20.58 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.89%. This is a positive change from HCA Healthcare's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. HCA Healthcare's dividend payout ratio is presently 13.91%.

HCA Healthcare declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, January 30th that allows the company to repurchase $6.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at HCA Healthcare

In related news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 3,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.79, for a total value of $981,728.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,929 shares in the company, valued at $7,647,967.91. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, SVP Sammie S. Mosier sold 1,645 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $312.00, for a total transaction of $513,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,646 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,385,552. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 3,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.79, for a total transaction of $981,728.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 24,929 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,647,967.91. 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. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of HCA Healthcare

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Stone House Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC raised its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Centerpoint Advisors LLC bought a new position in HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.