HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) Given New $275.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Posted by Defense World Staff on Apr 26th, 2023

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA – Get Rating) had its target price raised by Wells Fargo & Company from $243.00 to $275.00 in a research report released on Tuesday, The Fly reports.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on HCA. Argus upped their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $260.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Monday, February 13th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $279.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 11th. Stephens reiterated an overweight rating and issued a $283.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Friday, April 21st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $283.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Monday. Finally, Loop Capital upped their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $285.00 to $320.00 in a research report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $296.83.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

Shares of HCA stock opened at $281.99 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $259.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $244.06. HCA Healthcare has a one year low of $164.47 and a one year high of $294.02. The firm has a market cap of $78.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 157.23, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 21st. The company reported $4.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.99 by $0.94. HCA Healthcare had a negative return on equity of 1,157.58% and a net margin of 9.42%. The business had revenue of $15.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.12 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that HCA Healthcare will post 17.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Friday, January 27th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 4.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 is Thursday, June 15th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.04%.

Insider Transactions at HCA Healthcare

In other HCA Healthcare news, CFO Bill B. Rutherford sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $258.19, for a total transaction of $7,745,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 81,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,076,566.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other HCA Healthcare news, CFO Bill B. Rutherford sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $258.19, for a total value of $7,745,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 81,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,076,566.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kathleen M. Whalen sold 1,734 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.61, for a total transaction of $457,099.74. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,626,082.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 88,159 shares of company stock worth $22,688,959 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of HCA Healthcare

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the first quarter valued at $944,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the 1st quarter worth approximately $873,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 4.5% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,381 shares of the company’s stock valued at $364,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 2.8% during the first quarter. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. now owns 1,736 shares of the company’s stock valued at $458,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 3.8% in the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 34,825 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,183,000 after purchasing an additional 1,259 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.60% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Company Profile

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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.