HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Short Interest Update

HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) was the target of a large drop in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,600,000 shares, a drop of 13.0% from the March 15th total of 2,990,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,060,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.5 days. Approximately 1.4% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on HCA. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $315.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Barclays began coverage on HCA Healthcare in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $356.00 price objective on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $335.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on HCA Healthcare from $330.00 to $359.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on HCA Healthcare from $303.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $314.05.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Kathleen M. Whalen sold 4,262 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.21, for a total value of $1,305,067.02. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 10,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,138,652.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Chad J. Wasserman sold 652 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $312.04, for a total transaction of $203,450.08. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 290 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $90,491.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kathleen M. Whalen sold 4,262 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.21, for a total value of $1,305,067.02. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 10,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,138,652.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,840 shares of company stock valued at $4,588,869 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HCA Healthcare

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Stone House Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Centerpoint Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC lifted its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 92.9% in the third quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC now owns 108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

HCA Healthcare Stock Down 2.7 %

HCA stock traded down $8.73 on Tuesday, hitting $313.90. 1,623,115 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,052,363. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $320.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $280.61. HCA Healthcare has a 12-month low of $215.96 and a 12-month high of $335.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 35.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.18. The stock has a market cap of $83.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.65.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $5.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.85. The business had revenue of $17.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.51 billion. HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 996.30% and a net margin of 8.07%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.64 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that HCA Healthcare will post 20.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.66 dividend. This is a boost from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.84%. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.91%.

HCA Healthcare announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, January 30th that permits the company to buyback $6.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.