HCA Healthcare Q1 EPS Forecast Lowered by Leerink Partnrs

HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) – Investment analysts at Leerink Partnrs cut their Q1 2025 earnings per share estimates for shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note issued on Monday, January 27th. Leerink Partnrs analyst W. Mayo now anticipates that the company will post earnings of $5.80 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $6.08. The consensus estimate for HCA Healthcare’s current full-year earnings is $21.75 per share. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for HCA Healthcare’s Q2 2025 earnings at $6.37 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $5.55 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $7.39 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $25.11 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $6.86 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $7.19 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $6.28 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $8.44 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $28.78 EPS.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.03 by $0.19. HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 520.98% and a net margin of 8.52%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.90 earnings per share.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on HCA. KeyCorp lowered their target price on HCA Healthcare from $420.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com cut HCA Healthcare from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $390.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Raymond James lowered shares of HCA Healthcare from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $380.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $382.19.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

Shares of HCA stock opened at $332.18 on Tuesday. HCA Healthcare has a twelve month low of $281.61 and a twelve month high of $417.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 48.71. The company has a market capitalization of $84.14 billion, a PE ratio of 14.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.64. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $313.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $353.13.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $0.72 dividend. This is a boost from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Erol R. Akdamar sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at $2,415,579. This trade represents a 29.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 52,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,445,700. This trade represents a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of HCA Healthcare

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Terra Nova Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Terra Nova Asset Management LLC now owns 8,112 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,297,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 421 shares of the company’s stock worth $171,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the period. Waldron Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1.8% during the third quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,681 shares of the company’s stock valued at $683,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management grew its position in HCA Healthcare by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 4,065 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,652,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in HCA Healthcare by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,301 shares of the company’s stock worth $529,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.