HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) Stock Price Down 4% – Here’s Why

Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) traded down 4% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $309.00 and last traded at $312.28. 918,277 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 41% from the average session volume of 1,548,730 shares. The stock had previously closed at $325.36.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. KeyCorp decreased their target price on HCA Healthcare from $420.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Raymond James lowered shares of HCA Healthcare from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $380.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on 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. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded HCA Healthcare from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, HCA Healthcare currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $385.27.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $79.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.13, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.64. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $314.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $352.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 48.71.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period last year, the firm earned $5.90 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 21.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HCA Healthcare

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare in the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Canoe Financial LP acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the third quarter valued at $41,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 3rd quarter valued at about $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

About HCA Healthcare

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.