HCA Healthcare, Inc. $HCA Stake Boosted by Empowered Funds LLC

Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 49.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 53,359 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 17,634 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $25,252,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Evelyn Partners Asset Management Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1,280.0% in the first quarter. Evelyn Partners Asset Management Ltd now owns 207 shares of the company’s stock valued at $98,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its position in HCA Healthcare by 17.0% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 191,541 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,645,000 after buying an additional 27,838 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in HCA Healthcare by 20.5% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 307,343 shares of the company’s stock worth $145,447,000 after acquiring an additional 52,362 shares during the period. Intelligence Driven Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 8.1% in the 1st quarter. Intelligence Driven Advisers LLC now owns 651 shares of the company’s stock valued at $308,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp boosted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 17.8% during the first quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 14,997 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,097,000 after purchasing an additional 2,263 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

Shares of HCA opened at $417.94 on Wednesday. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a one year low of $339.82 and a one year high of $556.52. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $386.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $452.53. The company has a market capitalization of $92.71 billion, a PE ratio of 13.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.12.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last issued its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $20.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.76 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $6.84 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 29.21 earnings per share for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 16th will be given a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 16th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HCA has been the subject of a number of research reports. Leerink Partners decreased their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $573.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. 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. TD Cowen lowered their price target on HCA Healthcare from $500.00 to $431.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $528.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, HCA Healthcare has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $465.05.

HCA Healthcare News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: HCA reported second-quarter adjusted earnings of $7.59 per share, narrowly exceeding the $7.56 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 8.7% year over year to $20.23 billion and surpassed expectations. The earnings beat and strong revenue growth likely supported investor confidence in the hospital operator. Almost all of HCA’s Affordable Care Act patients are going uninsured. Here’s how that affected Q2
• Positive Sentiment: Despite lowering its price target from $525 to $475, Mizuho maintained an “outperform” rating, indicating it still sees meaningful upside for HCA after the post-earnings reassessment. Mizuho HCA price-target update
• Positive Sentiment: HCA declared a quarterly dividend of $0.78 per share, payable September 30 to shareholders of record September 16. The dividend provides ongoing shareholder return, although its indicated yield is relatively modest. HCA dividend announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: HCA appointed new hospital leadership, naming Jordan Fulkerson chief financial officer of HCA Florida Memorial Hospital and promoting a new chief executive for two Tampa-area hospitals. The changes are unlikely to materially affect near-term valuation. Jordan Fulkerson named CFO
• Negative Sentiment: Several firms reduced HCA price targets following the quarterly report. Oppenheimer, Truist, KeyCorp, Barclays and Baird all lowered their targets, suggesting analysts remain concerned about the outlook even though most retained positive or neutral ratings. HCA analysts slash forecasts after Q2 results
• Negative Sentiment: Nearly all of HCA’s Affordable Care Act patients reportedly became uninsured, raising concerns about payer mix, uncompensated care and reimbursement pressure. ACA patient coverage impact
• Negative Sentiment: Dogwood notified North Carolina officials that HCA may be in “potential noncompliance” with its Mission Hospital sale contract, adding regulatory and operational risk. Mission Hospital sale contract concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Pomerantz LLP announced an investigation into potential claims on behalf of HCA investors. The announcement may add legal overhang, although it does not establish wrongdoing. Pomerantz investor alert

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.