43,346 HCA Healthcare, Inc. $HCA Shares Sold by Cooke & Bieler LP

Cooke & Bieler LP decreased its position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 45.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 52,882 shares of the company’s stock after selling 43,346 shares during the quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $22,567,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in HCA. MidFirst Bank purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Clearstead Trust LLC purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Merkkuri Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 1st quarter worth approximately $43,000. 62.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting HCA Healthcare

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

• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen raised its price target to $460 while maintaining its view on HCA, signaling continued confidence in the hospital operator’s outlook. However, the revised target implies limited near-term upside at current levels. TD Cowen raises HCA Healthcare price target
• Positive Sentiment: HCA opened a new $22 million freestanding emergency department in Florida, expanding its care network and potentially supporting long-term admissions and revenue growth. The financial impact is likely to be gradual. HCA opens new Florida freestanding emergency department
• Neutral Sentiment: The CEO of HCA Florida Capital Hospital, Dale Neely, is stepping down. The departure creates some management uncertainty, although no operational disruption or broader leadership change was reported. HCA Florida hospital CEO to exit
• Negative Sentiment: HCA is disputing North Carolina’s authority to enforce provisions of its 2019 Mission Health acquisition agreement. The legal dispute could increase regulatory scrutiny and create potential compliance costs, penalties or restrictions involving the Mission system. HCA disputes state authority over Mission deal
• Negative Sentiment: Pomerantz LLP announced an investigation into potential claims on behalf of HCA investors. Although such law-firm announcements do not establish wrongdoing, they add headline and litigation risk and may weigh on sentiment. Pomerantz investor investigation
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts expect a decline in HCA’s upcoming earnings, and Zacks said the company lacks the typical factors supporting a likely earnings beat. This raises caution ahead of the earnings report and may be the most direct near-term pressure on the stock. HCA earnings expectations

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on HCA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on HCA Healthcare from $490.00 to $425.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $520.00 to $485.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 27th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $431.00 to $460.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their target price on HCA Healthcare from $535.00 to $495.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $467.61.

HCA Healthcare Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of NYSE HCA opened at $459.14 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $429.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $418.65. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 1-year low of $353.99 and a 1-year high of $556.52. The firm has a market cap of $99.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.10.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The company reported $7.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.56 by $0.03. HCA Healthcare had a negative return on equity of 244.79% and a net margin of 8.77%. The firm had revenue of $20.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.76 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.84 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 29.45 EPS for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Company Profile

HCA Healthcare, Inc is a healthcare services company that operates hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, emergency care facilities, physician practices and other healthcare sites. Its facilities provide a broad range of services, including acute and emergency care, surgery, cardiology, oncology, women’s and children’s services, behavioral health and outpatient care.

The company serves patients primarily across the United States through a network of healthcare facilities in numerous states.