HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) Given Overweight Rating at Cantor Fitzgerald

Cantor Fitzgerald restated their overweight rating on shares of HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) in a research report report published on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $405.00 price objective on the stock.

HCA has been the subject of several other research reports. StockNews.com downgraded HCA Healthcare from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Raymond James lowered shares of HCA Healthcare from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $420.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $380.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their target price on HCA Healthcare from $430.00 to $390.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $382.19.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

Shares of HCA opened at $332.18 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 48.71, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.00. HCA Healthcare has a one year low of $281.61 and a one year high of $417.14. The stock 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 PE ratio of 14.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.64.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that HCA Healthcare will post 21.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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 $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. This is a boost from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is 11.85%.

Insider Transactions at HCA Healthcare

In other news, insider Erol R. Akdamar sold 2,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction, the senior vice president now 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

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the third quarter valued at about $39,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in HCA Healthcare in the third quarter worth $41,000. Canoe Financial LP bought a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter valued at $41,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 3rd quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the third quarter worth about $50,000. 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.