HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) PT Raised to $315.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) had its price objective lifted by research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $303.00 to $315.00 in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective would suggest a potential downside of 4.89% from the company’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered HCA Healthcare from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $277.00 to $301.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on HCA Healthcare from $308.00 to $322.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $335.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $315.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on HCA Healthcare in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $356.00 price target on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, HCA Healthcare presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $311.47.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

HCA stock traded down $0.49 during trading on Thursday, reaching $331.20. 147,582 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,078,264. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 35.07. The firm has a market cap of $87.60 billion, a PE ratio of 17.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.64. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $309.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $272.98. HCA Healthcare has a 1-year low of $215.96 and a 1-year high of $334.02.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $5.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.85. The company had revenue of $17.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.51 billion. HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 996.30% and a net margin of 8.07%. HCA Healthcare’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.64 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that HCA Healthcare will post 20.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 30th that permits the company to buyback $6.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other HCA Healthcare news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 3,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.79, for a total value of $981,728.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 24,929 shares in the company, valued at $7,647,967.91. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 3,861 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.00, for a total value of $1,185,327.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 15,899 shares in the company, valued at $4,880,993. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 3,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.79, for a total transaction of $981,728.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 24,929 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,647,967.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,840 shares of company stock valued at $4,588,869. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HCA. Norges Bank bought a new position in HCA Healthcare in the fourth quarter worth approximately $694,985,000. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 102.0% during the 2nd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,650,988 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,108,001,000 after purchasing an additional 1,843,887 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 112.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,772,627 shares of the company’s stock worth $479,815,000 after purchasing an additional 936,823 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 51.5% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,229,190 shares of the company’s stock valued at $534,917,000 after purchasing an additional 758,127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Viking Global Investors LP bought a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter worth approximately $196,301,000. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

HCA Healthcare Company Profile

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.