HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) Raised to "Strong-Buy" at StockNews.com

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on HCA. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $356.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $303.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded HCA Healthcare from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $277.00 to $301.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $320.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $308.00 to $322.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $314.05.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

HCA Healthcare stock traded up $5.20 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $310.31. 1,110,507 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,089,153. The company has a market capitalization of $82.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.65. HCA Healthcare has a 1 year low of $215.96 and a 1 year high of $335.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 35.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.18. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $324.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $292.52.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last released 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 firm had revenue of $17.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.64 EPS. HCA Healthcare's revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare will post 20.58 EPS for the current year.

HCA Healthcare announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, January 30th that permits the company to repurchase $6.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 3,861 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.00, for a total value of $1,185,327.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,899 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,880,993. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, SVP Chad J. Wasserman sold 876 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,576 shares in the company, valued at $520,474. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 3,861 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.00, for a total transaction of $1,185,327.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 15,899 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,880,993. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,840 shares of company stock valued at $4,588,869 over the last 90 days. 1.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HCA Healthcare

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 183.2% during the third quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 320 shares of the company's stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY increased its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 2.0% during the third quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 13,314 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,275,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares during the period. CX Institutional lifted its position in HCA Healthcare by 3.9% in the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,950 shares of the company's stock worth $480,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 904 shares of the company's stock worth $222,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oak Thistle LLC bought a new position in HCA Healthcare during the third quarter valued at about $206,000. 62.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About HCA Healthcare

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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