HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) Lowered to Buy Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report released on Saturday morning.

HCA has been the subject of a number of other reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Monday, December 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $520.00 to $558.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Raymond James Financial set a $525.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Mizuho set a $540.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on HCA Healthcare from $520.00 to $546.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $523.27.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

NYSE HCA opened at $539.91 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $482.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $448.96. HCA Healthcare has a 1-year low of $295.00 and a 1-year high of $552.90. The company has a market cap of $120.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.36.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The company reported $8.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.37 by $0.64. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.97% and a negative return on equity of 409.11%. The firm had revenue of $19.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.67 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $6.22 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. HCA Healthcare has set its FY 2026 guidance at 29.100-31.500 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare will post 24.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is an increase from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 17th. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is presently 10.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Christopher F. Wyatt sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.00, for a total transaction of $2,020,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 44,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,411,395. This trade represents a 8.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $498.09, for a total transaction of $747,135.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 30,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,944,194.27. This trade represents a 4.76% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 13,520 shares of company stock worth $6,894,067 in the last quarter. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter valued at $1,021,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 11.9% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,859 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,334,000 after acquiring an additional 409 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in HCA Healthcare by 5.5% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $241,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $221,000. Finally, Angeles Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 15.5% in the 2nd quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 990 shares of the company’s stock valued at $379,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

Key HCA Healthcare News

Here are the key news stories impacting HCA Healthcare this week:

• Positive Sentiment: HCA’s share performance is strong on a year‑over‑year basis (shares up ~75% YoY), reinforcing momentum and investor confidence in the company’s results and outlook. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks and other analysts highlight earnings growth and price strength; Zacks added HCA to focus coverage and raised FY‑2026 EPS estimates, supporting forward earnings momentum and valuation. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: HCA raised its quarterly dividend (new quarterly payout announced), which narrows yield risk and is a modest positive for income‑oriented investors. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Large institutional flows and stake increases (e.g., Norges Bank, Pacer, Viking Global) point to strong institutional demand and provide technical/supportive buying pressure for the stock. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: HCA completed a 43‑hospital EHR rollout and is tracking success metrics — operational execution that can improve efficiency and integration over time but has a gradual, not immediate, earnings impact. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Local expansion moves — HCA Houston Healthcare Tomball acquired Supreme Care ER and StoneSprings plans a freestanding ER conversion — small, market‑level capacity adds that could modestly lift volumes in those geographies. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: HCA sold ASC real estate — a financing/portfolio move that could free capital or change lease terms; impact depends on transaction use of proceeds. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: two senior VPs disclosed multi‑million dollar sales (Christopher Wyatt sold ~$2.0M; Jennifer Berres sold ~$4.13M). Significant insider sales can create short‑term selling pressure or raise governance/portfolio‑rebalancing questions. Read More. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks/other outlets flagged a downward revision to HCA’s Q1 EPS forecast, which can pressure near‑term expectations even as FY estimates were raised. Read More.

HCA Healthcare Company Profile

HCA Healthcare is a for‑profit operator of healthcare facilities headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1968, the company owns and operates a network of hospitals and related healthcare facilities and has grown through organic expansion and acquisitions to become a large provider of inpatient and outpatient services.

The company’s core activities include the operation of acute care hospitals, freestanding surgical and emergency centers, and outpatient clinics. HCA’s services encompass inpatient care, surgical services, emergency medicine, diagnostic imaging and laboratory testing, and various outpatient and ambulatory care offerings.