Mizuho Cuts HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) Price Target to $475.00

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) had its target price cut by Mizuho from $525.00 to $475.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the stock.

HCA has been the topic of several other research reports. UBS Group dropped their price target on HCA Healthcare from $635.00 to $579.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Stephens dropped their target price on HCA Healthcare from $560.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $425.00 to $380.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $402.00 to $387.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $465.05.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

NYSE HCA opened at $396.15 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $85.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.26, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.12. HCA Healthcare has a 52-week low of $353.13 and a 52-week high of $556.52. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $386.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $451.49.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 24th. The company reported $7.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.56 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $20.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.76 billion. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.77% and a negative return on equity of 244.79%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.84 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that HCA Healthcare will post 29.38 EPS for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 16th. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is presently 10.45%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HCA. Norges Bank bought a new position in HCA Healthcare during the fourth quarter worth about $1,262,513,000. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd bought a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter worth approximately $374,037,000. Viking Global Investors LP raised its stake in HCA Healthcare by 58.5% in the 2nd quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 1,872,133 shares of the company’s stock valued at $717,214,000 after acquiring an additional 690,773 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in HCA Healthcare by 4,545.5% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 663,337 shares of the company’s stock worth $309,686,000 after purchasing an additional 649,058 shares during the period. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 5,941.1% during the 1st quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 381,433 shares of the company’s stock worth $180,509,000 after buying an additional 375,119 shares during the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

HCA Healthcare News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: RBC Capital reiterated its “Outperform” rating, signaling continued confidence in HCA’s long-term outlook despite recent volatility. Royal Bank of Canada Reiterates Outperform Rating for HCA Healthcare
• Positive Sentiment: HCA recently reported quarterly earnings and revenue above analyst expectations, with revenue growth of 8.7% year over year, providing a fundamental counterpoint to the stock’s recent weakness.
• Neutral Sentiment: HCA continued strengthening its hospital leadership team, appointing a former Banner Health physician executive as chief medical officer at an HCA Texas hospital and naming a former Oak Hill Hospital executive to lead two Tampa-area hospitals. Former Banner physician executive joins HCA Texas hospital HCA taps former Oak Hill Hospital executive
• Neutral Sentiment: An upcoming open house for HCA’s Long Point emergency room highlights local expansion and community outreach, but is unlikely to materially affect near-term earnings. HCA Long Point ER Open House
• Negative Sentiment: A North Carolina judge cleared the attorney general’s lawsuit against HCA to proceed to trial and separately rejected a key HCA argument concerning its obligations to provide services at Mission Hospital. The cases could create legal costs, operational restrictions, or reputational damage. Judge clears path to trial for NC attorney general lawsuit against HCA
• Negative Sentiment: Dogwood Health Trust also flagged potential compliance concerns in its review of HCA’s Mission Health operations, adding to investor uncertainty around the North Carolina dispute. Dogwood Health Trust flags HCA compliance concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Mizuho, KeyCorp, Truist, and Robert W. Baird lowered their expectations or price targets for HCA. KeyCorp reduced its target to $435, reinforcing concerns about valuation, industry conditions, or legal overhangs. Mizuho lowers expectations for HCA KeyCorp lowers HCA price target Baird issues pessimistic forecast for HCA
• Negative Sentiment: Pomerantz LLP announced an investigation into potential claims on behalf of HCA investors, which may further weigh on sentiment even though the announcement does not establish wrongdoing. Pomerantz investor investigation into HCA

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.