HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) Reaches New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $556.31 and last traded at $554.3010, with a volume of 225991 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $537.28.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HCA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $500.00 to $558.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of HCA Healthcare from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on HCA Healthcare from $520.00 to $546.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded HCA Healthcare from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 27th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, HCA Healthcare currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $537.73.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $504.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $468.21. The stock has a market cap of $122.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.34.

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

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 17th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is a positive change from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.15%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 8,020 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $514.58, for a total transaction of $4,126,931.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 11,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,171,357.94. This represents a 40.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $498.09, for a total value of $747,135.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 30,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,944,194.27. The trade was a 4.76% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 15,214 shares of company stock valued at $7,797,595. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 45,287 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,146,000 after acquiring an additional 3,234 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 285,650 shares of the company’s stock worth $133,410,000 after purchasing an additional 19,023 shares in the last quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 14.2% in the 4th quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 726 shares of the company’s stock worth $339,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Reflection Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the fourth quarter worth approximately $113,000. Finally, MidFirst Bank purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter valued at $261,000. 62.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.