HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) Releases Q2 2026 Earnings Guidance

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) updated its second quarter 2026 earnings guidance on Tuesday. The company provided EPS guidance of 7.590-7.590 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 7.410. The company issued revenue guidance of $20.2 billion-$20.2 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $19.4 billion. HCA Healthcare also updated its FY 2026 guidance to 28.700-30.500 EPS.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HCA has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stephens decreased their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $560.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their target price on HCA Healthcare from $588.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $503.00 to $413.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Truist Financial set a $413.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on HCA Healthcare from $535.00 to $490.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, HCA Healthcare currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $496.77.

HCA Healthcare Stock Down 3.9%

Shares of HCA Healthcare stock opened at $390.81 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $86.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.12. The business’s 50 day moving average is $396.68 and its 200-day moving average is $459.73. HCA Healthcare has a 12-month low of $330.00 and a 12-month high of $556.52.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The company reported $7.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.19 by ($0.04). HCA Healthcare had a negative return on equity of 295.93% and a net margin of 8.89%.The firm had revenue of $19.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $6.45 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. HCA Healthcare has set its FY 2026 guidance at 29.100-31.500 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that HCA Healthcare will post 30.07 EPS for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 16th were paid a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.73%.

Institutional Trading of HCA Healthcare

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,021,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its position in HCA Healthcare by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $241,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. American Trust acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the third quarter worth $214,000. Templeton & Phillips Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the fourth quarter valued at $211,000. Finally, Polymer Capital Management HK LTD acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter worth about $205,000. Institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

About HCA Healthcare

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.