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) Outpaces Stock Market Gains: What You Should Know
Read MoreHide Full Article
HCA Healthcare (HCA - Free Report) closed the most recent trading day at $277.54, moving +1.56% from the previous trading session. The stock outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.63%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.62%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.84%.
Heading into today, shares of the hospital operator had gained 0.01% over the past month, outpacing the Medical sector's loss of 1.03% and the S&P 500's loss of 3.37% in that time.
Wall Street will be looking for positivity from HCA Healthcare as it approaches its next earnings report date. The company is expected to report EPS of $4.10, up 4.33% from the prior-year quarter. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $15.85 billion, up 5.86% from the year-ago period.
Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $18.43 per share and revenue of $63.91 billion. These totals would mark changes of +9.12% and +6.11%, respectively, from last year.
It is also important to note the 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. 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.
Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 1.82% higher. HCA Healthcare is currently a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
In terms of valuation, HCA Healthcare is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 14.83. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 13.89, which means HCA Healthcare is trading at a premium to the group.
Investors should also note that HCA has a PEG ratio of 1.41 right now. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. Medical - Hospital stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 1.68 based on yesterday's closing prices.
The Medical - Hospital industry is part of the Medical sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 45, putting it in the top 18% 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.
Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.
See More Zacks Research for These Tickers
Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:
Image: Bigstock
HCA Healthcare (HCA) Outpaces Stock Market Gains: What You Should Know
HCA Healthcare (HCA - Free Report) closed the most recent trading day at $277.54, moving +1.56% from the previous trading session. The stock outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.63%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.62%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.84%.
Heading into today, shares of the hospital operator had gained 0.01% over the past month, outpacing the Medical sector's loss of 1.03% and the S&P 500's loss of 3.37% in that time.
Wall Street will be looking for positivity from HCA Healthcare as it approaches its next earnings report date. The company is expected to report EPS of $4.10, up 4.33% from the prior-year quarter. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $15.85 billion, up 5.86% from the year-ago period.
Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $18.43 per share and revenue of $63.91 billion. These totals would mark changes of +9.12% and +6.11%, respectively, from last year.
It is also important to note the 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. 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.
Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 1.82% higher. HCA Healthcare is currently a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
In terms of valuation, HCA Healthcare is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 14.83. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 13.89, which means HCA Healthcare is trading at a premium to the group.
Investors should also note that HCA has a PEG ratio of 1.41 right now. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. Medical - Hospital stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 1.68 based on yesterday's closing prices.
The Medical - Hospital industry is part of the Medical sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 45, putting it in the top 18% 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.
Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.