We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies, revised Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.
You are being directed to ZacksTrade, a division of LBMZ Securities and licensed broker-dealer. ZacksTrade and Zacks.com are separate companies. The web link between the two companies is not a solicitation or offer to invest in a particular security or type of security. ZacksTrade does not endorse or adopt any particular investment strategy, any analyst opinion/rating/report or any approach to evaluating individual securities.
If you wish to go to ZacksTrade, click OK. If you do not, click Cancel.
HCA Healthcare (HCA) Gains But Lags Market: What You Should Know
Read MoreHide Full Article
HCA Healthcare (HCA - Free Report) closed at $181.69 in the latest trading session, marking a +1.34% move from the prior day. This change lagged the S&P 500's 1.46% gain on the day. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 1%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.18%.
Coming into today, shares of the hospital operator had lost 16.99% in the past month. In that same time, the Medical sector lost 3.17%, while the S&P 500 lost 6.94%.
HCA Healthcare will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $3.94, down 9.84% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $14.88 billion, up 3.06% from the year-ago period.
HCA's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $17.15 per share and revenue of $60.91 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of -2% and +3.68%, respectively.
Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for HCA Healthcare. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.
Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant within the past month. HCA Healthcare is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.
In terms of valuation, HCA Healthcare is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 10.45. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 9.51, which means HCA Healthcare is trading at a premium to the group.
It is also worth noting that HCA currently has a PEG ratio of 1.14. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. The Medical - Hospital industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 1.4 as of yesterday's close.
The Medical - Hospital industry is part of the Medical sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 183, putting it in the bottom 28% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Make sure to utilize Zacks.com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.
See More Zacks Research for These Tickers
Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:
Image: Bigstock
HCA Healthcare (HCA) Gains But Lags Market: What You Should Know
HCA Healthcare (HCA - Free Report) closed at $181.69 in the latest trading session, marking a +1.34% move from the prior day. This change lagged the S&P 500's 1.46% gain on the day. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 1%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.18%.
Coming into today, shares of the hospital operator had lost 16.99% in the past month. In that same time, the Medical sector lost 3.17%, while the S&P 500 lost 6.94%.
HCA Healthcare will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $3.94, down 9.84% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $14.88 billion, up 3.06% from the year-ago period.
HCA's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $17.15 per share and revenue of $60.91 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of -2% and +3.68%, respectively.
Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for HCA Healthcare. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.
Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant within the past month. HCA Healthcare is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.
In terms of valuation, HCA Healthcare is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 10.45. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 9.51, which means HCA Healthcare is trading at a premium to the group.
It is also worth noting that HCA currently has a PEG ratio of 1.14. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. The Medical - Hospital industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 1.4 as of yesterday's close.
The Medical - Hospital industry is part of the Medical sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 183, putting it in the bottom 28% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Make sure to utilize Zacks.com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.