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

HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,860,000 shares, a growth of 6.7% from the September 30th total of 2,680,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,120,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.6 days. Currently, 1.5% of the company’s shares are short sold.

HCA Healthcare Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:HCA traded down $0.85 on Friday, hitting $357.89. 822,469 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,162,728. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 48.71, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.00. HCA Healthcare has a 12 month low of $225.32 and a 12 month high of $417.14. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $393.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $353.85.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on HCA shares. TD Cowen cut their target price on HCA Healthcare from $450.00 to $440.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $390.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 19th. Wolfe Research raised HCA Healthcare to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Leerink Partners raised their price target on HCA Healthcare from $367.00 to $396.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, KeyCorp cut their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $475.00 to $420.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $379.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 8,358 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $385.42, for a total value of $3,221,340.36. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 29,678 shares in the company, valued at $11,438,494.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of HCA Healthcare

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. CreativeOne Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the first quarter worth approximately $231,000. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 51.2% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 7,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,543,000 after buying an additional 2,584 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 54.3% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 13,910 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,639,000 after acquiring an additional 4,893 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the first quarter worth $95,882,000. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1.6% during the second quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 225,146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,335,000 after purchasing an additional 3,516 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

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.