Oppenheimer Raises HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) Price Target to $345.00

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) had its target price upped by Oppenheimer from $330.00 to $345.00 in a report released on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on HCA. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Barclays initiated coverage on HCA Healthcare in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an overweight rating and a $356.00 target price for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an overweight rating and issued a $335.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $308.00 to $322.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of HCA Healthcare from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, HCA Healthcare has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $316.59.

HCA Healthcare Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of HCA Healthcare stock opened at $309.44 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.65. HCA Healthcare has a 12-month low of $215.96 and a 12-month high of $335.83. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $323.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $296.64.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $5.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.01 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $17.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.81 billion. HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 674.49% and a net margin of 8.20%. HCA Healthcare’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.93 EPS. Research analysts expect that HCA Healthcare will post 20.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.16%.

HCA Healthcare announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, January 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $6.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Kathleen M. Whalen sold 4,262 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.21, for a total value of $1,305,067.02. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 10,250 shares in the company, valued at $3,138,652.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Chad J. Wasserman sold 652 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $312.04, for a total transaction of $203,450.08. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 290 shares in the company, valued at $90,491.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kathleen M. Whalen sold 4,262 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.21, for a total value of $1,305,067.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 10,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,138,652.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,779 shares of company stock valued at $2,421,814. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of HCA Healthcare

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HCA. Mckinley Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 1st quarter valued at about $3,048,000. Fortem Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 2.2% in the first quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC now owns 5,253 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,752,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 13,775 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,594,000 after acquiring an additional 987 shares during the last quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP lifted its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 2,489 shares of the company’s stock valued at $830,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC raised its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 14.5% in the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 3,980 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,327,000 after purchasing an additional 503 shares during the period. 62.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.