HCA Healthcare (HCA) Stock Price, News & Analysis

Company Overview

HCA Healthcare, Inc. is a provider of healthcare services in the United States. Through its network of hospitals and other healthcare facilities, the company delivers services including emergency and urgent care, surgery, inpatient and outpatient treatment, women’s and children’s care, cardiology, oncology, orthopedics, and behavioral health services.

HCA Healthcare also operates physician practices, ambulatory surgery centers, freestanding emergency rooms, diagnostic facilities, and other outpatient care sites. Its hospitals serve local communities across multiple U.S. states, with a significant presence in markets throughout the Southeast, Texas, and other regions.

The company traces its history to 1968, when it was established by physicians Thomas Frist Sr. and Thomas Frist Jr., along with Jack Massey. HCA Healthcare is led by Chief Executive Officer Sam Hazen, who has held the position since 2019, and Executive Chairman Thomas Frist Jr.

Key Stats

• Today's Range: $426.00 to $437.27
• 50-Day Range: $396.15 to $438.14
• 52-Week Range: $353.99 to $556.52
• Volume: 1.15 million shs
• Average Volume: 1.44 million shs
• Market Capitalization: $94.08 billion
• P/E Ratio: 14.55
• Dividend Yield: 0.72%
• Price Target: $463.70
• Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy

HCA Healthcare Stock Analysis - MarketRank™

HCA Healthcare scored higher than 72% of companies evaluated by MarketBeat, and ranked 151st out of 888 stocks in the healthcare sector. Scores are calculated by averaging available category scores, with extra weight given to analysis and valuation.

Analyst's Opinion

• Score: 2.8 / 5
• Analyst Rating: Moderate Buy

Consensus Rating

HCA Healthcare has received a consensus rating of Moderate Buy. The company's average rating score is 2.58, and is based on no strong buy ratings, 15 buy ratings, 8 hold ratings, and 1 sell rating.

Upside/Downside

The consensus price target for HCA Healthcare is close to its current price, suggesting limited near-term upside or downside.

Amount of Analyst Coverage

HCA Healthcare has been the subject of 17 research reports in the past 90 days, demonstrating strong analyst interest in this stock.

Earnings and Valuation

• Score: 2.5 / 5
• Proj. Earnings Growth: 8.63%

Earnings Growth

Earnings for HCA Healthcare are expected to grow by 8.63% in the coming year, from $29.42 to $31.96 per share.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market

The P/E ratio of HCA Healthcare is 14.55, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 44.66.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector

The P/E ratio of HCA Healthcare is 14.55, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the Healthcare sector average P/E ratio of about 274.34.

Price to Earnings Growth Ratio

HCA Healthcare has a PEG Ratio of 1.44. PEG Ratios above 1 indicate that a company could be overvalued.

Short Interest

• Score: 2.0 / 5
• Short Interest Level: Bearish

Percentage of Shares Shorted

3.04% of the float of HCA Healthcare has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

HCA Healthcare has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 4.52.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in HCA Healthcare has recently increased by 5.61%, indicating that investor sentiment is decreasing significantly.

Dividend

• Score: 2.5 / 5
• Dividend Strength: Moderate

Dividend Yield

HCA Healthcare has a dividend yield of 0.73%, which is in the bottom 25% of all stocks that pay dividends.

Dividend Growth

HCA Healthcare has been increasing its dividend for 6 years.

Dividend Coverage

The dividend payout ratio of HCA Healthcare is 10.45%. This payout ratio is at a healthy, sustainable level, below 75%.

Dividend Sustainability

Based on earnings estimates, HCA Healthcare will have a dividend payout ratio of 9.76% next year. This indicates that HCA Healthcare will be able to sustain or increase its dividend.

News and Social Media

• Score: 2.6 / 5
• News Sentiment: 0.18

News Sentiment

HCA Healthcare has a news sentiment score of 0.18. This score is calculated as an average of sentiment of articles about the company over the last seven days and ranges from 2 (good news) to -2 (bad news). This is a lower news sentiment than the 0.43 average news sentiment score of Healthcare companies.

News Coverage This Week

MarketBeat has tracked 12 news articles for HCA Healthcare this week, compared to 7 articles on an average week.

Search Interest

11 people have searched for HCA on MarketBeat in the last 30 days. This is an increase of 120% compared to the previous 30 days.

MarketBeat Follows

Only 4 people have added HCA Healthcare to their MarketBeat watchlist in the last 30 days. This is a decrease of -43% compared to the previous 30 days.

Company Ownership

• Score: 0.8 / 5
• Insider Trading: N/A

Insider Buying vs. Insider Selling

In the past three months, HCA Healthcare insiders have not sold or bought any company stock.

Percentage Held by Insiders

1.50% of the stock of HCA Healthcare is held by insiders.

Percentage Held by Institutions

62.73% of the stock of HCA Healthcare is held by institutions. High institutional ownership can be a signal of strong market trust in this company.

Company Calendar

• Last Earnings: 7/24/2026
• Record date for 9/30 Dividend: 9/16/2026
• Ex-Dividend for 9/30 Dividend: 9/16/2026
• Dividend Payable: 9/30/2026
• Today: 10/05/2026
• Next Earnings (Estimated): 10/27/2026
• Fiscal Year End: 12/31/2026

Industry, Sector and Symbol

• Stock Exchange: NYSE
• Sector: Healthcare
• Industry: Healthcare Providers & Services
• Sub-Industry: Healthcare Facilities
• Current Symbol: NYSE:HCA
• CIK: 860730
• Web: www.hcahealthcare.com
• Phone: (615) 344-9551
• Fax: 302-655-5049
• Employees: 320,000
• Year Founded: 1968

Price Target and Rating

• Average Price Target for HCA Healthcare: $463.70
• High Price Target: $579.00
• Low Price Target: $380.00
• Potential Upside/Downside: +6.7%
• Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy
• Rating Score (0-4): 2.58
• Research Coverage: 24 Analysts

Profitability

• EPS (Trailing Twelve Months): $29.87
• Trailing P/E Ratio: 14.55
• Forward P/E Ratio: 14.77
• P/E Growth: 1.44
• Net Income: $6.78 billion
• Net Margins: 8.77%
• Pretax Margin: 12.65%
• Return on Equity: -244.79%
• Return on Assets: 11.10%

Debt

• Debt-to-Equity Ratio: N/A
• Current Ratio: 0.99
• Quick Ratio: 0.90

Sales & Book Value

• Annual Sales: $75.60 billion
• Price / Sales: 1.24
• Cash Flow: $46.08 per share
• Price / Cash Flow: 9.43
• Book Value: ($12.14) per share
• Price / Book: -35.79

Miscellaneous

• Outstanding Shares: 216,500,000
• Free Float: 213,254,000
• Market Cap: $94.08 billion
• Optionable: Optionable
• Beta: 1.10