HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) Rating Lowered to Buy at Wall Street Zen

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Morgan Stanley lowered HCA Healthcare from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $425.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $541.00 price target on HCA Healthcare in a research note on Monday, February 9th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on HCA Healthcare from $423.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $525.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Sixteen 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $523.27.

HCA Healthcare Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of HCA Healthcare stock opened at $539.91 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $482.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $449.62. The company has a market cap of $120.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.02, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.36. HCA Healthcare has a 12-month low of $295.00 and a 12-month high of $552.90.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The company reported $8.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.37 by $0.64. The company had revenue of $19.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.67 billion. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.97% and a negative return on equity of 409.11%. HCA Healthcare’s revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.22 earnings per share. HCA Healthcare has set its FY 2026 guidance at 29.100-31.500 EPS. Analysts predict that HCA Healthcare will post 24.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at HCA Healthcare

In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Christopher F. Wyatt sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.00, for a total value of $2,020,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 44,379 shares in the company, valued at $22,411,395. This represents a 8.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 1,500 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $498.09, for a total transaction of $747,135.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 30,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,944,194.27. This trade represents a 4.76% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 13,520 shares of company stock valued at $6,894,067 over the last quarter. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of HCA Healthcare

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in HCA Healthcare in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,152,408,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in HCA Healthcare by 6,115.3% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 911,096 shares of the company’s stock valued at $388,309,000 after acquiring an additional 896,437 shares in the last quarter. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd bought a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter valued at about $374,037,000. Viking Global Investors LP increased its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 58.5% in the second quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 1,872,133 shares of the company’s stock worth $717,214,000 after purchasing an additional 690,773 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake 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 valued at $309,686,000 after buying an additional 649,058 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

Key HCA Healthcare News

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

• Positive Sentiment: HCA’s share performance is strong on a year‑over‑year basis (shares up ~75% YoY), reinforcing momentum and investor confidence in the company’s results and outlook. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks and other analysts highlight earnings growth and price strength; Zacks added HCA to focus coverage and raised FY‑2026 EPS estimates, supporting forward earnings momentum and valuation. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: HCA raised its quarterly dividend (new quarterly payout announced), which narrows yield risk and is a modest positive for income‑oriented investors. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Large institutional flows and stake increases (e.g., Norges Bank, Pacer, Viking Global) point to strong institutional demand and provide technical/supportive buying pressure for the stock. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: HCA completed a 43‑hospital EHR rollout and is tracking success metrics — operational execution that can improve efficiency and integration over time but has a gradual, not immediate, earnings impact. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Local expansion moves — HCA Houston Healthcare Tomball acquired Supreme Care ER and StoneSprings plans a freestanding ER conversion — small, market‑level capacity adds that could modestly lift volumes in those geographies. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: HCA sold ASC real estate — a financing/portfolio move that could free capital or change lease terms; impact depends on transaction use of proceeds. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: two senior VPs disclosed multi‑million dollar sales (Christopher Wyatt sold ~$2.0M; Jennifer Berres sold ~$4.13M). Significant insider sales can create short‑term selling pressure or raise governance/portfolio‑rebalancing questions. Read More. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks/other outlets flagged a downward revision to HCA’s Q1 EPS forecast, which can pressure near‑term expectations even as FY estimates were raised. Read More.

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.