HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) Sets New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $480.61 and last traded at $477.7060, with a volume of 389139 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $478.14.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on HCA. Stephens boosted their target price on HCA Healthcare from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $485.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $412.00 to $431.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $474.53.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $109.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.58, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.41. The company’s 50 day moving average is $436.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $398.67.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 24th. The company reported $6.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.64 by $1.32. The company had revenue of $19.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.55 billion. HCA Healthcare had a negative return on equity of 792.25% and a net margin of 8.53%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.90 EPS. HCA Healthcare has set its FY 2025 guidance at 27.000-28.000 EPS. Research analysts predict that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is 11.13%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Michael R. Mcalevey sold 3,892 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.79, for a total transaction of $1,843,990.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 3,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,652,105.73. This represents a 52.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 3,836 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $418.84, for a total transaction of $1,606,670.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 31,503 shares in the company, valued at $13,194,716.52. This trade represents a 10.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cheviot Value Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. 62.73% of the stock is currently 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.