HCA Healthcare Q4 EPS Forecast Boosted by Zacks Research

HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research upped their Q4 2025 earnings estimates for shares of HCA Healthcare in a note issued to investors on Friday, November 7th. Zacks Research analyst Team now anticipates that the company will post earnings of $7.13 per share for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $7.12. Zacks Research currently has a “Strong-Buy” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for HCA Healthcare’s current full-year earnings is $24.98 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for HCA Healthcare’s Q1 2026 earnings at $7.05 EPS.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on HCA. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Monday, October 27th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $485.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Barclays increased their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $445.00 to $494.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $423.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $473.53.

HCA Healthcare Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of HCA Healthcare stock opened at $476.33 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $427.73 and its 200-day moving average is $392.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $108.70 billion, a PE ratio of 18.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.41. HCA Healthcare has a 12-month low of $289.98 and a 12-month high of $478.88.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 24th. The company reported $6.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.64 by $1.32. The firm had revenue of $19.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.55 billion. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.53% and a negative return on equity of 792.25%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.90 earnings per share. HCA Healthcare has set its FY 2025 guidance at 27.000-28.000 EPS.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 29th. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is presently 11.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 3,836 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $418.84, for a total value of $1,606,670.24. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 31,503 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,194,716.52. This represents a 10.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Michael R. Mcalevey sold 3,892 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.79, for a total value of $1,843,990.68. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 3,487 shares in the company, valued at $1,652,105.73. This trade represents a 52.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HCA Healthcare

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of HCA. Park Place Capital Corp lifted its stake in HCA Healthcare by 2,336.0% in the 2nd quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 1,218 shares of the company’s stock valued at $474,000 after purchasing an additional 1,168 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 11.9% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 25,454 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,796,000 after acquiring an additional 2,698 shares during the period. Harrell Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 176.3% during the 2nd quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,815 shares of the company’s stock valued at $695,000 after purchasing an additional 1,158 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 53.9% in the first quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 4,630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,600,000 after purchasing an additional 1,622 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Simon Quick Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 616.9% during the 2nd quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 7,147 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,738,000 after buying an additional 6,150 shares during the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About HCA Healthcare

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.