HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) Shares Down 3.6% – Here’s Why

HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)’s stock price was down 3.6% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $350.74 and last traded at $357.00. Approximately 811,517 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 44% from the average daily volume of 1,450,312 shares. The stock had previously closed at $370.46.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Guggenheim assumed coverage on HCA Healthcare in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $384.00 to $376.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Barclays set a $416.00 target price on HCA Healthcare and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Baird R W lowered HCA Healthcare from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Stephens upgraded shares of HCA Healthcare to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $392.47.

HCA Healthcare Stock Down 0.5%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $358.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $333.23. The company has a market cap of $88.71 billion, a PE ratio of 16.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.49.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $6.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.75 by $0.70. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.16% and a return on equity of 586.47%. The company had revenue of $18.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.36 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is 12.81%.

Insider Transactions at HCA Healthcare

In other news, COO Jon M. Foster sold 15,698 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $369.32, for a total transaction of $5,797,585.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 12,646 shares in the company, valued at $4,670,420.72. This represents a 55.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HCA Healthcare

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HCA. Cheviot Value Management LLC acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 888.9% during the first quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 89 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.