Barclays Has Lowered Expectations for HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) Stock Price

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) had its target price cut by analysts at Barclays from $392.00 to $366.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Barclays‘s price target indicates a potential upside of 17.12% from the stock’s current price.

HCA has been the subject of a number of other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $380.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. KeyCorp reduced their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $420.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $406.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of HCA Healthcare from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price target for the company from $400.00 to $320.00 in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $392.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $383.53.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

NYSE:HCA opened at $312.51 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 48.71, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.12. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $313.49 and a 200 day moving average of $353.13. HCA Healthcare has a 52-week low of $279.93 and a 52-week high of $417.14.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.03 by $0.19. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.52% and a return on equity of 520.98%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.90 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that HCA Healthcare will post 21.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Erol R. Akdamar sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $353.00, for a total value of $1,023,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,415,579. This represents a 29.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Phillip G. Billington sold 3,897 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total value of $1,363,950.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 52,702 shares in the company, valued at $18,445,700. This trade represents a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HCA Healthcare

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HCA. MML Investors Services LLC boosted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 31.7% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 17,816 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,241,000 after purchasing an additional 4,285 shares in the last quarter. Meritage Group LP bought a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the third quarter worth $150,548,000. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter worth about $18,044,000. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC bought a new position in HCA Healthcare in the 3rd quarter worth about $869,000. Finally, NRI Wealth Management LC bought a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,896,000. 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.