HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) Given New $323.00 Price Target at Bank of America

Posted by Defense World Staff on Apr 25th, 2023

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA – Get Rating) had its price objective hoisted by Bank of America from $294.00 to $323.00 in a research note released on Monday morning, The Fly reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on HCA. Mizuho boosted their target price on HCA Healthcare from $279.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 11th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $237.00 to $296.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, January 13th. StockNews.com raised HCA Healthcare from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report on Wednesday, April 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $217.00 to $243.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 3rd. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $293.00 to $324.00 in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $292.42.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HCA opened at $286.25 on Monday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $258.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $243.46. HCA Healthcare has a 52-week low of $164.47 and a 52-week high of $294.02. The firm has a market cap of $79.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.36, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.64.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 21st. The company reported $4.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.99 by $0.94. The company had revenue of $15.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.26 billion. HCA Healthcare had a negative return on equity of 1,260.96% and a net margin of 9.37%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.12 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare will post 17.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 16th will be given a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 15th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.84%. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is 12.04%.

HCA Healthcare declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Friday, January 27th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 4.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Christopher F. Wyatt sold 4,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.30, for a total transaction of $1,241,170.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 32,392 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,204,893.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Christopher F. Wyatt sold 4,900 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.30, for a total value of $1,241,170.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 32,392 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,204,893.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP P. Martin Paslick sold 2,687 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total transaction of $738,925.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 24,643 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,776,825. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 88,159 shares of company stock worth $22,688,959. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HCA Healthcare

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 162.5% in the 4th quarter. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 105 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. RFP Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 56.4% in the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 122 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc increased its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 55.3% in the fourth quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 132 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA bought a new position in HCA Healthcare in the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. 64.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About HCA Healthcare

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HCA Healthcare, Inc is a health care services company engaged in operating hospitals, freestanding surgery centers and emergency care facilities, urgent care facilities, walk-in clinics, diagnostic and imaging centers, radiation and oncology therapy centers, comprehensive rehabilitation and physical therapy centers, physician practices, home health, hospice, outpatient physical therapy home and community-based services providers, and various other facilities.