HCA Healthcare (HCA - Free Report) closed at $179.82 in the latest trading session, marking a -1.38% move from the prior day. This change lagged the S&P 500's 0.3% loss on the day. At the same time, the Dow lost 0.2%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.11%.
Heading into today, shares of the hospital operator had lost 15.41% over the past month, lagging the Medical sector's loss of 0.32% and the S&P 500's loss of 0.62% in that time.
Wall Street will be looking for positivity from HCA Healthcare as it approaches its next earnings report date. In that report, analysts expect HCA Healthcare to post earnings of $3.91 per share. This would mark a year-over-year decline of 10.53%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $14.88 billion, up 3.06% from the prior-year quarter.
For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $17.12 per share and revenue of $60.91 billion, which would represent changes of -2.17% and +3.68%, respectively, from the prior year.
Investors might also notice 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.
Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. 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. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.2% lower within the past month. HCA Healthcare is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Digging into valuation, HCA Healthcare currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 10.65. This represents a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 10.1.
Investors should also note that HCA has a PEG ratio of 1.17 right now. 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 1.5 as of yesterday's close.
The Medical - Hospital industry is part of the Medical sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 202, putting it in the bottom 21% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual 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.
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HCA Healthcare (HCA - Free Report) closed at $179.82 in the latest trading session, marking a -1.38% move from the prior day. This change lagged the S&P 500's 0.3% loss on the day. At the same time, the Dow lost 0.2%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.11%.
Heading into today, shares of the hospital operator had lost 15.41% over the past month, lagging the Medical sector's loss of 0.32% and the S&P 500's loss of 0.62% in that time.
Wall Street will be looking for positivity from HCA Healthcare as it approaches its next earnings report date. In that report, analysts expect HCA Healthcare to post earnings of $3.91 per share. This would mark a year-over-year decline of 10.53%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $14.88 billion, up 3.06% from the prior-year quarter.
For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $17.12 per share and revenue of $60.91 billion, which would represent changes of -2.17% and +3.68%, respectively, from the prior year.
Investors might also notice 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.
Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. 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. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.2% lower within the past month. HCA Healthcare is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Digging into valuation, HCA Healthcare currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 10.65. This represents a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 10.1.
Investors should also note that HCA has a PEG ratio of 1.17 right now. 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 1.5 as of yesterday's close.
The Medical - Hospital industry is part of the Medical sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 202, putting it in the bottom 21% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual 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.
Just Released: Zacks Top 10 Stocks for 2024
Hurry – you can still get in early on our 10 top tickers for 2024. Hand-picked by Zacks Director of Research, Sheraz Mian, this portfolio has been stunningly and consistently successful. From inception in 2012 through November, 2023, the Zacks Top 10 Stocks gained +974.1%, nearly TRIPLING the S&P 500’s +340.1%. Sheraz has combed through 4,400 companies covered by the Zacks Rank and handpicked the best 10 to buy and hold in 2024. You can still be among the first to see these just-released stocks with enormous potential.
See New Top 10 Stocks >>
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