HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) Issues Earnings Results

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday. The company reported $5.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.01 by $0.35, Briefing.com reports. HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 996.30% and a net margin of 8.07%. The business had revenue of $17.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.81 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.93 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. HCA Healthcare updated its FY 2024 guidance to 19.700-21.200 EPS and its FY24 guidance to $19.70-21.20 EPS.

HCA Healthcare Trading Down 2.4 %

HCA traded down $7.43 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $306.69. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,222,864 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,104,165. HCA Healthcare has a fifty-two week low of $215.96 and a fifty-two week high of $335.83. The stock has a market cap of $81.11 billion, a PE ratio of 16.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.65. The business’s 50-day moving average is $324.24 and its 200-day moving average is $294.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 35.07, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is currently 13.91%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on HCA shares. Raymond James increased their price target on HCA Healthcare from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. 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. 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. Truist Financial raised their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $320.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $303.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $310.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at HCA Healthcare

In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 3,861 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.00, for a total value of $1,185,327.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 15,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,880,993. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 3,861 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 15,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,880,993. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Chad J. Wasserman sold 876 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.25, for a total value of $289,299.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $520,474. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,840 shares of company stock valued at $4,588,869 over the last quarter. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.