HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) Trading 5% Higher Following Earnings Beat

HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) shares were up 5% during trading on Monday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $327.81 and last traded at $328.75. Approximately 883,044 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 47% from the average daily volume of 1,654,547 shares. The stock had previously closed at $313.07.

The company reported $6.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.03 by $0.19. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.52% and a return on equity of 520.98%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.90 EPS.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. This is a boost from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on HCA. Raymond James cut HCA Healthcare from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $450.00 to $440.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of HCA Healthcare from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $400.00 to $320.00 in a research note on Monday, November 25th. KeyCorp cut their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $420.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on HCA Healthcare from $392.00 to $366.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $382.19.

Insider Buying and Selling at HCA Healthcare

In other news, insider Erol R. Akdamar sold 2,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $353.00, for a total transaction of $1,023,700.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,415,579. This represents a 29.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Phillip G. Billington sold 3,897 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total transaction of $1,363,950.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 52,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,445,700. The trade was a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Terra Nova Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 0.3% in the third quarter. Terra Nova Asset Management LLC now owns 8,112 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,297,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 7.4% during the third quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 421 shares of the company’s stock worth $171,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1.8% in the third quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,681 shares of the company’s stock worth $683,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management boosted its position in HCA Healthcare by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 4,065 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,652,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 2.4% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,301 shares of the company’s stock worth $529,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 48.71. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $313.49 and a 200-day moving average of $353.13. The company has a market cap of $84.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.92, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.64.

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.