Leerink Partnrs Weighs in on HCA Healthcare, Inc.’s Q2 2024 Earnings (NYSE:HCA)

HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) – Leerink Partnrs raised their Q2 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for HCA Healthcare in a note issued to investors on Sunday, April 28th. Leerink Partnrs analyst W. Mayo now forecasts that the company will post earnings per share of $5.44 for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $4.98. The consensus estimate for HCA Healthcare’s current full-year earnings is $20.58 per share. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for HCA Healthcare’s Q3 2024 earnings at $4.68 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $21.18 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $6.36 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $6.49 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $5.63 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $25.27 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $27.81 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $30.56 EPS.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $5.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.01 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $17.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.81 billion. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.20% and a return on equity of 674.49%. The business’s revenue was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.93 EPS.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on HCA. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on HCA Healthcare from $322.00 to $329.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of HCA Healthcare from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $277.00 to $301.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $303.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $320.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $313.88.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

Shares of HCA opened at $311.42 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $82.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.26. HCA Healthcare has a twelve month low of $215.96 and a twelve month high of $335.83. The company has a 50 day moving average of $323.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $295.56.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 461 shares of the company’s stock valued at $125,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 26.7% in the 4th quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its position in HCA Healthcare by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 3,879 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,294,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital boosted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 2,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $711,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, Valley Wealth Managers Inc. lifted its position in HCA Healthcare by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 981 shares of the company’s stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other HCA Healthcare news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 3,200 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.79, for a total transaction of $981,728.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,929 shares in the company, valued at $7,647,967.91. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 3,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.79, for a total value of $981,728.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 24,929 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,647,967.91. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Chad J. Wasserman sold 344 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $321.97, for a total transaction of $110,757.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,452 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $789,470.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 14,840 shares of company stock valued at $4,588,869. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is currently 13.16%.

HCA Healthcare announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, January 30th that permits the company to repurchase $6.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.