HCA Healthcare (HCA) Stock Price, News & Analysis

Company Overview

HCA Healthcare, Inc. is a leading operator of healthcare facilities in the United States and the United Kingdom, offering a comprehensive set of medical services that span inpatient care, outpatient surgery, emergency services, diagnostic imaging and laboratory testing. Through its network of acute care hospitals, freestanding surgery centers, emergency rooms, urgent care centers and physician practice management platforms, the company delivers a full continuum of care to patients across a broad range of specialties, including cardiology, oncology, orthopedics and women’s health.

Founded in 1968 as the Hospital Corporation of America by Dr. Thomas F. Frist Sr., Dr. Thomas F. Frist Jr. and Jack C. Massey, HCA pioneered the investor-owned model for hospital management in the United States. Headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, the company has grown through strategic acquisitions and greenfield expansions to serve communities in more than 20 U.S. states—such as Texas, Florida, California and Virginia—and operates several facilities in the London metropolitan area under its HCA UK division. Over the decades, HCA has invested in digital health initiatives and data analytics to enhance clinical outcomes and patient experience.

The company’s executive leadership team is led by President and Chief Executive Officer Samuel N. Hazen, who oversees a workforce of over 275,000 employees and affiliated physicians. Supported by senior leaders in clinical operations, finance, technology and human resources, HCA Healthcare continues to focus on improving access to high-quality healthcare services, advancing medical research partnerships and driving operational efficiencies across its growing network of hospitals and outpatient sites.

Key Stats

• Today's Range: $398.98 to $406.23
• 50-Day Range: $334.26 to $420.68
• 52-Week Range: $289.98 to $420.98
• Volume: 1.32 million shs
• Average Volume: 1.10 million shs
• Market Capitalization: $93.55 billion
• P/E Ratio: 16.80
• Dividend Yield: 0.72%
• Price Target: $403.17
• Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy

HCA Healthcare Stock Analysis - MarketRank™

HCA Healthcare scored higher than 92% of companies evaluated by MarketBeat, and ranked 95th out of 958 stocks in the medical sector. Scores are calculated by averaging available category scores, with extra weight given to analysis and valuation.

Analyst's Opinion

• Score: 2.3 / 5
• Analyst Rating: Moderate Buy

Consensus Rating

HCA Healthcare has received a consensus rating of Moderate Buy. The company's average rating score is 2.53, and is based on 7 buy ratings, 9 hold ratings, and no sell ratings.

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 10 research reports in the past 90 days, demonstrating strong analyst interest in this stock.

Earnings and Valuation

• Score: 2.5 / 5
• Proj. Earnings Growth: 12.21%

Earnings Growth

Earnings for HCA Healthcare are expected to grow by 12.21% in the coming year, from $24.98 to $28.03 per share.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market

The P/E ratio of HCA Healthcare is 16.80, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 280.71.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector

The P/E ratio of HCA Healthcare is 16.80, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the Medical sector average P/E ratio of about 76.02.

Price to Earnings Growth Ratio

HCA Healthcare has a PEG Ratio of 1.27. PEG Ratios above 1 indicate that a company could be overvalued.

Price to Book Value per Share Ratio

HCA Healthcare has a P/B Ratio of 182.55. P/B Ratios above 3 indicate that a company could be overvalued with respect to its assets and liabilities.

Short Interest

• Score: 3.0 / 5
• Short Interest Level: Healthy

Percentage of Shares Shorted

2.57% 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 3.1, which is generally considered an acceptable ratio of short interest to trading volume.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in HCA Healthcare has recently increased by 3.64%, indicating that investor sentiment is decreasing.

Dividend

• Score: 2.5 / 5
• Dividend Strength: Moderate

Dividend Yield

HCA Healthcare has a dividend yield of 0.71%, 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 12.11%. 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 10.27% next year. This indicates that HCA Healthcare will be able to sustain or increase its dividend.

Sustainability and ESG

• Score: 4.5 / 5
• Environmental Score: -0.92

Percentage of Shares Shorted

2.57% 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 3.1, which is generally considered an acceptable ratio of short interest to trading volume.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in HCA Healthcare has recently increased by 3.64%, indicating that investor sentiment is decreasing.

News and Social Media

• Score: 2.9 / 5
• News Sentiment: 1.21

News Sentiment

HCA Healthcare has a news sentiment score of 1.21. 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 higher news sentiment than the 0.92 average news sentiment score of Medical companies.

News Coverage This Week

MarketBeat has tracked 41 news articles for HCA Healthcare this week, compared to 35 articles on an average week.

Search Interest

Only 6 people have searched for HCA on MarketBeat in the last 30 days. This is a decrease of -70% compared to the previous 30 days.

MarketBeat Follows

Only 7 people have added HCA Healthcare to their MarketBeat watchlist in the last 30 days. This is a decrease of -22% compared to the previous 30 days.

Company Ownership

• Score: 2.5 / 5
• Insider Trading: Selling Shares

Insider Buying vs. Insider Selling

In the past three months, HCA Healthcare insiders have sold more of their company's stock than they have bought. Specifically, they have bought $0.00 in company stock and sold $1,606,670.00 in company stock.

Percentage Held by Insiders

Only 1.30% 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.

HCA Stock Analysis - Frequently Asked Questions

How have HCA shares performed this year?

HCA Healthcare's stock was trading at $300.15 at the beginning of 2025. Since then, HCA stock has increased by 33.2% and is now trading at $399.79.

How were HCA Healthcare's earnings last quarter?

HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July, 25th. The company reported $6.84 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.20 by $0.64. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis.
Read the conference call transcript.

How will HCA Healthcare's stock buyback program work?

HCA Healthcare's Board of Directors authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, January 30th 2024, which authorizes the company to buy back $6,000,000,000 in shares, according to EventVestor. This means that the company could repurchase up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Does HCA Healthcare have any subsidiaries?

HCA Healthcare subsidiaries include Valify, Galen College of Nursing, Mission Health, Highlands Regional Medical Center, Weatherford Regional Medical Center, Memorial University Medical Center, Mobile Heartbeat, and more.

Who are HCA Healthcare's major shareholders?

HCA Healthcare's top institutional investors include Vanguard Group Inc. (6.61%), Sanders Capital LLC (4.74%), State Street Corp (3.40%) and First Eagle Investment Management LLC (1.75%). Insiders that own company stock include Charles J Hall, Bill B Rutherford, Phillip G Billington, Christopher F Wyatt, Michael S Cuffe, A Bruce Moore Jr, P Martin Paslick, Kathryn A Torres, Jennifer Berres, Timothy M Mcmanus, Jon M Foster, Kathleen M Whalen, Sammie S Mosier, Erol R Akdamar, Jeffrey E Cohen, Chad J Wasserman and Deborah M Reiner.
View institutional ownership trends.

How do I buy shares of HCA Healthcare?

Shares of HCA stock can be purchased through any online brokerage account. Popular online brokerages with access to the U.S. stock market include Charles Schwab, E*TRADE, Fidelity, and Vanguard Brokerage Services.

What other stocks do shareholders of HCA Healthcare own?

Based on aggregate information from My MarketBeat watchlists, some other companies that HCA Healthcare investors own include Chevron (CVX), Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY), Comcast (CMCSA), McKesson (MCK), Charles Schwab (SCHW), Edwards Lifesciences (EW) and Yum! Brands (YUM).

Company Calendar

• Record date for 6/30 Dividend: 6/16/2025
• Ex-Dividend for 6/30 Dividend: 6/16/2025
• Dividend Payable: 6/30/2025
• Last Earnings: 7/25/2025
• Record date for 9/30 Dividend: 9/16/2025
• Ex-Dividend for 9/30 Dividend: 9/16/2025
• Today: 9/17/2025
• Dividend Payable: 9/30/2025
• Next Earnings (Estimated): 10/24/2025
• Fiscal Year End: 12/31/2025

Industry, Sector and Symbol

• Stock Exchange: NYSE
• Sector: Medical
• Industry: MED - HOSPITALS
• Sub-Industry: Health Care Facilities
• Current Symbol: NYSE:HCA
• CIK: 860730
• Web: www.hcahealthcare.com
• Phone: (615) 344-9551
• Fax: 302-655-5049
• Employees: 316,000
• Year Founded: 1968

Price Target and Rating

• Average Price Target for HCA Healthcare: $403.17
• High Price Target: $444.00
• Low Price Target: $370.00
• Potential Upside/Downside: +0.8%
• Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy
• Rating Score (0-4): 2.53
• Research Coverage: 17 Analysts

Profitability

• EPS (Trailing Twelve Months): $23.79
• Trailing P/E Ratio: 16.80
• Forward P/E Ratio: 16.00
• P/E Growth: 1.27
• Net Income: $5.76 billion
• Net Margins: 8.21%
• Pretax Margin: 12.08%
• Return on Equity: -7,363.11%
• Return on Assets: 10.35%

Debt

• Debt-to-Equity Ratio: 69.07
• Current Ratio: 0.98
• Quick Ratio: 0.86

Sales & Book Value

• Annual Sales: $70.60 billion
• Price / Sales: 1.32
• Cash Flow: $35.60 per share
• Price / Cash Flow: 11.23
• Book Value: $2.19 per share
• Price / Book: 182.55

Miscellaneous

• Outstanding Shares: 233,990,000
• Free Float: 230,951,000
• Market Cap: $93.55 billion
• Optionable: Optionable
• Beta: 1.41