HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) Shares Gap Down to $311.03

Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $311.03, but opened at $303.01. HCA Healthcare shares last traded at $297.78, with a volume of 376,849 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of HCA Healthcare from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on HCA Healthcare from $308.00 to $322.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $356.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price target on HCA Healthcare from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $314.05.

HCA Healthcare Trading Down 3.9 %

The company has a market cap of $79.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 35.07. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $320.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $280.82.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $5.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.85. The company had revenue of $17.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.51 billion. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.07% and a return on equity of 996.30%. The company’s revenue was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.64 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 20.58 earnings per share for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. This is an increase from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is 13.91%.

HCA Healthcare declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 30th that allows the company to repurchase $6.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 3,861 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.00, for a total transaction of $1,185,327.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,880,993. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, SVP Chad J. Wasserman sold 344 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $321.97, for a total transaction of $110,757.68. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,452 shares in the company, valued at $789,470.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 3,861 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.00, for a total transaction of $1,185,327.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,880,993. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,840 shares of company stock worth $4,588,869 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HCA Healthcare

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Aviance Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 1st quarter worth $2,543,000. LVW Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 76.4% during the 1st quarter. LVW Advisors LLC now owns 3,189 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,064,000 after acquiring an additional 1,381 shares during the period. Red Door Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in HCA Healthcare by 4.6% in the first quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,868 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,627,000 after acquiring an additional 881 shares during the last quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board boosted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 29.9% in the 1st quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 13,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,636,000 after purchasing an additional 3,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norway Savings Bank lifted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 51.9% during the 1st quarter. Norway Savings Bank now owns 1,183 shares of the company’s stock worth $395,000 after buying an additional 404 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Company Profile

HCA Healthcare, Inc, through its subsidiaries, owns and operates hospitals and related healthcare entities in the United States. It operates general and acute care hospitals that offers medical and surgical services, including inpatient care, intensive care, cardiac care, diagnostic, and emergency services; and outpatient services, such as outpatient surgery, laboratory, radiology, respiratory therapy, cardiology, and physical therapy.