HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Short Interest Down 15.1% in April

HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,740,000 shares, a decline of 15.1% from the March 31st total of 5,580,000 shares. Currently, 2.7% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,730,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.7 days.

HCA Healthcare Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of HCA stock opened at $348.11 on Friday. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $331.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $330.75. HCA Healthcare has a twelve month low of $289.98 and a twelve month high of $417.14. The company has a market capitalization of $85.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.48.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $6.45 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.75 by $0.70. The company had revenue of $18.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.26 billion. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.16% and a return on equity of 586.47%. The business’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.36 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare will post 24.98 EPS for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of HCA Healthcare from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. KeyCorp dropped their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $420.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $336.00 price target (down from $396.00) on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Bank of America lowered their target price 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, Baird R W cut shares of HCA Healthcare from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, HCA Healthcare currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $381.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,971,757.08. The trade was a 38.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HCA Healthcare

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HCA. Markel Group Inc. boosted its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 9.6% during the first quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 62,001 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,424,000 after buying an additional 5,421 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 1st quarter worth approximately $39,445,000. Graypoint LLC raised its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 3.0% during the first quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 1,831 shares of the company’s stock worth $633,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 4.9% in the first quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 19,569 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,762,000 after buying an additional 920 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridgewater Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 1st quarter worth about $369,000. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.