HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) Downgraded to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Wednesday.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Guggenheim initiated coverage on HCA Healthcare in a report on Wednesday. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Bank of America cut their price target on HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $430.00 to $390.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. KeyCorp dropped their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $420.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $406.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, HCA Healthcare currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $385.67.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

HCA traded down $11.18 on Wednesday, reaching $327.35. The company had a trading volume of 780,503 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,377,556. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $327.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $337.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.59 billion, a PE ratio of 14.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07. HCA Healthcare has a 1 year low of $289.98 and a 1 year high of $417.14.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.03 by $0.19. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.16% and a return on equity of 586.47%. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.90 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare will post 24.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This is a boost from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.11%.

Insider Transactions at HCA Healthcare

In other news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.59, for a total transaction of $3,075,250.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,412 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,971,757.08. This represents a 38.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HCA Healthcare

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HCA. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE raised its stake in HCA Healthcare by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 1,039 shares of the company’s stock valued at $312,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in HCA Healthcare by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 12,787 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,838,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd raised its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 10,592 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,153,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Prairie Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Prairie Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $210,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. lifted its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,195 shares of the company’s stock worth $359,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

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.