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HCA Healthcare (HCA) Gains As Market Dips: What You Should Know

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HCA Healthcare (HCA - Free Report) closed the most recent trading day at $296.56, moving +0.2% from the previous trading session. This change outpaced the S&P 500's 0.1% loss on the day. At the same time, the Dow added 0.33%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 5.8%.

Heading into today, shares of the hospital operator had gained 3.53% over the past month, outpacing the Medical sector's loss of 1.81% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.39% in that time.

Investors will be hoping for strength from HCA Healthcare as it approaches its next earnings release, which is expected to be July 27, 2023. On that day, HCA Healthcare is projected to report earnings of $4.28 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 1.66%. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $15.58 billion, up 5.14% from the year-ago period.

For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $18.10 per share and revenue of $63.41 billion, which would represent changes of +7.16% and +5.27%, respectively, from the prior year.

It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for HCA Healthcare. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.

The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.04% higher. HCA Healthcare currently has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Investors should also note HCA Healthcare's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 16.35. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 15.63, so we one might conclude that HCA Healthcare is trading at a premium comparatively.

Also, we should mention that HCA has a PEG ratio of 1.86. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. HCA's industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.92 as of yesterday's close.

The Medical - Hospital industry is part of the Medical sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 15, putting it in the top 6% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

To follow HCA in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.


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