HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twelve have assigned a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $385.00.

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on HCA shares. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $390.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on HCA Healthcare from $390.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. StockNews.com lowered shares of HCA Healthcare from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $427.00 price objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on HCA Healthcare from $405.00 to $438.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

Shares of HCA stock opened at $342.96 on Friday. HCA Healthcare has a 12 month low of $238.82 and a 12 month high of $417.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.87 billion, a PE ratio of 15.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.68. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $386.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $357.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 48.71.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Phillip G. Billington sold 3,897 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total transaction of $1,363,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 52,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,445,700. This trade represents a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Erol R. Akdamar sold 2,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $353.00, for a total value of $1,023,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,415,579. The trade was a 29.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,155 shares of company stock worth $5,608,990 in the last quarter. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HCA Healthcare

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Bangor Savings Bank grew its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 112.5% in the second quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 85 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC boosted its position in HCA Healthcare by 284.0% during the 2nd quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 96 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the third quarter valued at about $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

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.