Leerink Partnrs Forecasts Lower Earnings for HCA Healthcare

HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) – Equities researchers at Leerink Partnrs reduced their Q1 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of HCA Healthcare in a note issued to investors on Monday, January 27th. Leerink Partnrs analyst W. Mayo now forecasts that the company will post earnings of $5.80 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $6.08. The consensus estimate for HCA Healthcare’s current full-year earnings is $21.75 per share. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for HCA Healthcare’s Q2 2025 earnings at $6.37 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $5.55 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $7.39 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $25.11 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $6.86 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $7.19 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $6.28 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $8.44 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $28.78 EPS.

HCA has been the topic of several other research reports. TD Cowen cut their price target on HCA Healthcare from $450.00 to $440.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $406.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $405.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com downgraded HCA Healthcare from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, KeyCorp cut their target price 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. 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $382.19.

HCA Healthcare Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:HCA opened at $328.39 on Tuesday. HCA Healthcare has a fifty-two week low of $281.61 and a fifty-two week high of $417.14. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $313.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $353.24. The stock has a market cap of $83.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 48.71.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 last year, the business earned $5.90 earnings per share.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HCA. Angeles Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 808 shares of the company’s stock worth $243,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Activest Wealth Management grew its position in HCA Healthcare by 1,250.0% in the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 135 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 15.4% during the 4th quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 2,288 shares of the company’s stock worth $687,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. AlphaStar Capital Management LLC lifted its position in HCA Healthcare by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. AlphaStar Capital Management LLC now owns 7,742 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,324,000 after acquiring an additional 1,010 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 131.4% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 50,496 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,156,000 after buying an additional 28,672 shares during the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at HCA Healthcare

In related news, insider Erol R. Akdamar sold 2,900 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $353.00, for a total value of $1,023,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,415,579. This trade represents a 29.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Phillip G. Billington sold 3,897 shares of the business’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 owns 52,702 shares of the company’s stock, 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 1.70% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This is an increase from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is currently 13.11%.

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.