HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Wells Fargo & Company Analyst Says

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) had its price objective raised by Wells Fargo & Company from $395.00 to $400.00 in a report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target suggests a potential upside of 12.43% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on HCA. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of HCA Healthcare to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $405.00 to $438.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $427.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $450.00 to $440.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $378.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, HCA Healthcare presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $379.39.

HCA Healthcare Stock Down 3.0 %

NYSE:HCA traded down $10.89 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $355.77. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,070,574 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,163,948. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.68. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $392.01 and a 200-day moving average of $355.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 48.71. HCA Healthcare has a 52-week low of $226.48 and a 52-week high of $417.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 8,358 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $385.42, for a total transaction of $3,221,340.36. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 29,678 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,438,494.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HCA Healthcare

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HCA. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 57.5% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,792,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $931,342,000 after purchasing an additional 1,019,750 shares during the last quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 2nd quarter valued at about $131,527,000. Darsana Capital Partners LP grew its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 53.3% during the 2nd quarter. Darsana Capital Partners LP now owns 1,150,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $369,472,000 after buying an additional 400,000 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare during the 1st quarter valued at about $95,882,000. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 30.4% in the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 721,318 shares of the company’s stock worth $240,581,000 after purchasing an additional 168,093 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.