Brokerages Set HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Target Price at $534.50

Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-five research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $534.50.

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on HCA shares. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $541.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on HCA Healthcare from $452.00 to $481.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. KeyCorp set a $503.00 target price on HCA Healthcare in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Mizuho raised their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $540.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $525.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 8,020 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $514.58, for a total transaction of $4,126,931.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 11,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,171,357.94. This trade represents a 40.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Christopher F. Wyatt sold 4,000 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.00, for a total value of $2,020,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 44,379 shares in the company, valued at $22,411,395. The trade was a 8.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 15,214 shares of company stock valued at $7,797,595 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HCA. State Street Corp grew its position in HCA Healthcare by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,566,643 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,532,563,000 after acquiring an additional 76,039 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in HCA Healthcare by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,999,422 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,334,040,000 after purchasing an additional 40,086 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,663,705 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,702,738,000 after buying an additional 13,565 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,152,408,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,311,112 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,078,966,000 after acquiring an additional 245,887 shares during the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

HCA Healthcare News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment and research upgrades: several outlets and analysts continue to rate HCA favorably — one consensus snapshot called the stock a “Moderate Buy,” reflecting continued analyst confidence that HCA can grow earnings and return capital to shareholders. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Long-term demographic bull case: MarketBeat argues HCA is a likely beneficiary of U.S. aging demographics, noting management’s strong guidance (FY2026 EPS and EBITDA ranges), expanded capex, a $10B repurchase authorization and a raised dividend — all supportive of long‑term growth and shareholder returns. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst estimate tweaks from Zacks: Zacks Research nudged near‑term EPS estimates slightly higher for Q2, Q3 and Q4 2026 and raised FY2026 to $29.63, which supports the earnings outlook, but it kept a “Hold” rating — a modest positive but not a strong endorsement. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks’ view is mixed farther out: while FY2026 estimates were lifted, Zacks trimmed its FY2028 EPS forecast modestly — a sign analysts see near‑term strength but some uncertainty on longer‑term margin expansion. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Local/industry headlines are mixed and mostly non‑company specific: a local hospital (Manchester’s Catholic Medical Center) plans to end outpatient mental‑health services and a leadership hire at Methodist Healthcare were reported — signals about regional capacity and staffing but with limited direct impact on HCA’s large national footprint. Article Title Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Near‑term policy and revenue risks remain prominent: recent company commentary and market writeups note revenue growth was slightly below expectations in the prior quarter and management flagged $600–$900M of potential EBITDA headwinds from insurance‑exchange changes plus state supplemental payment declines — factors that could cap near‑term upside despite strong EPS. Article Title

HCA Healthcare Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of HCA stock opened at $533.63 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $500.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $465.79. HCA Healthcare has a 52 week low of $310.18 and a 52 week high of $552.90. The company has a market cap of $119.33 billion, a PE ratio of 18.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.34.

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

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 17th. 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. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is 10.15%.

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.