Guggenheim Initiates Coverage on HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA)

Guggenheim started coverage on shares of HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) in a research note published on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued a neutral rating on the stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $380.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. KeyCorp dropped their price target on HCA Healthcare from $420.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $430.00 to $390.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on HCA Healthcare from $405.00 to $384.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $385.67.

HCA Healthcare Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:HCA opened at $333.07 on Wednesday. HCA Healthcare has a 12-month low of $289.98 and a 12-month high of $417.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $327.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $336.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.48.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.03 by $0.19. HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 586.47% and a net margin of 8.16%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.90 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. This is a boost from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is presently 13.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling at HCA Healthcare

In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.59, for a total transaction of $3,075,250.47. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 15,412 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,971,757.08. This trade represents a 38.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HCA Healthcare

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HCA. Curat Global LLC purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $242,000. Ullmann Wealth Partners Group LLC increased its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Ullmann Wealth Partners Group LLC now owns 6,890 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,381,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the first quarter valued at about $210,000. Clarus Wealth Advisors bought a new position in HCA Healthcare during the first quarter valued at approximately $257,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its stake in HCA Healthcare by 95.1% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 201 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

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.