HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) Given New $367.00 Price Target at Barclays

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) had its price objective raised by Barclays from $356.00 to $367.00 in a research note published on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on HCA. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $320.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an overweight rating and set a $335.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on HCA Healthcare from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Monday. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of HCA Healthcare from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and upped their price target for the stock from $277.00 to $301.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $322.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Monday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $313.88.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

HCA stock opened at $311.42 on Monday. HCA Healthcare has a 1 year low of $215.96 and a 1 year high of $335.83. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $323.67 and a 200 day moving average of $295.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.26, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company has a market cap of $82.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.52, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.65.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $5.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.01 by $0.35. HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 674.49% and a net margin of 8.20%. The company had revenue of $17.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.81 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.93 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare will post 20.58 EPS for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.16%.

HCA Healthcare announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, January 30th that allows the company to buyback $6.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 3,861 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $4,880,993. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Sammie S. Mosier sold 1,645 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $312.00, for a total transaction of $513,240.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,646 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,385,552. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 3,861 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.00, for a total transaction of $1,185,327.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 15,899 shares in the company, valued at $4,880,993. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 14,840 shares of company stock valued at $4,588,869. 1.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HCA Healthcare

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HCA. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 461 shares of the company’s stock worth $125,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 26.7% during the 4th quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1.0% in the first quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 3,879 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,294,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital grew its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 2,527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $711,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valley Wealth Managers Inc. raised its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 981 shares of the company’s stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.