HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on HCA. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on HCA Healthcare from $593.00 to $534.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on HCA Healthcare from $420.00 to $535.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on HCA Healthcare from $450.00 to $442.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Oppenheimer cut their target price on HCA Healthcare from $540.00 to $520.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on HCA Healthcare from $481.00 to $436.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 27th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, HCA Healthcare currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $520.55.

HCA Healthcare Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE HCA opened at $433.73 on Friday. HCA Healthcare has a twelve month low of $330.00 and a twelve month high of $556.52. The company has a market cap of $96.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.18. The business’s fifty day moving average is $497.66 and its 200 day moving average is $486.41.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 24th. The company reported $7.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.19 by ($0.04). HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.89% and a negative return on equity of 295.93%. The firm had revenue of $19.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.09 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $6.45 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. HCA Healthcare has set its FY 2026 guidance at 29.100-31.500 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare will post 30.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Michael R. Mcalevey sold 1,694 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $533.37, for a total value of $903,528.78. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 8,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,721,924.61. The trade was a 16.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Christopher F. Wyatt sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.00, for a total value of $2,020,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 44,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,411,395. The trade was a 8.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 15,214 shares of company stock valued at $7,797,595 over the last 90 days. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of HCA Healthcare

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HCA. Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 43,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,719,000 after purchasing an additional 5,092 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service increased its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 626,585 shares of the company’s stock worth $267,051,000 after purchasing an additional 17,531 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC increased its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 37.7% during the 3rd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 4,548 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,938,000 after purchasing an additional 1,246 shares in the last quarter. Sector Gamma AS increased its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 36.0% during the 3rd quarter. Sector Gamma AS now owns 10,883 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,638,000 after purchasing an additional 2,883 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 11.2% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,084,590 shares of the company’s stock worth $507,393,000 after purchasing an additional 108,849 shares in the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About HCA Healthcare

HCA Healthcare is a for‑profit operator of healthcare facilities headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1968, the company owns and operates a network of hospitals and related healthcare facilities and has grown through organic expansion and acquisitions to become a large provider of inpatient and outpatient services.

The company’s core activities include the operation of acute care hospitals, freestanding surgical and emergency centers, and outpatient clinics. HCA’s services encompass inpatient care, surgical services, emergency medicine, diagnostic imaging and laboratory testing, and various outpatient and ambulatory care offerings.