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HCA Healthcare (HCA) Rises Higher Than Market: Key Facts

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The latest trading session saw HCA Healthcare (HCA - Free Report) ending at $269.18, denoting a +0.75% adjustment from its last day's close. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.59%. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a rise of 0.68%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw an increase of 0.66%.

Shares of the hospital operator witnessed a gain of 7.56% over the previous month, beating the performance of the Medical sector with its gain of 5.08% and the S&P 500's gain of 5.16%.

Investors will be eagerly watching for the performance of HCA Healthcare in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company's upcoming EPS is projected at $5.02, signifying an 8.19% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $16.55 billion, up 6.78% from the year-ago period.

For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $18.17 per share and revenue of $64.21 billion, which would represent changes of +7.58% and +6.61%, respectively, from the prior year.

Furthermore, it would be beneficial for investors to monitor any recent shifts in analyst projections for HCA Healthcare. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.

Our research demonstrates that these adjustments in estimates directly associate with imminent stock price performance. To capitalize on this, we've crafted the Zacks Rank, a unique model that incorporates these estimate changes and offers a practical rating system.

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. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has witnessed a 0.06% increase. Right now, HCA Healthcare possesses a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell).

Digging into valuation, HCA Healthcare currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 14.71. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 14.61, so one might conclude that HCA Healthcare is trading at a premium comparatively.

It is also worth noting that HCA currently has a PEG ratio of 1.54. 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. The Medical - Hospital industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.77 as trading concluded yesterday.

The Medical - Hospital industry is part of the Medical sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 171, this industry ranks in the bottom 33% of all industries, numbering over 250.

The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the strength of our separate industry groups by calculating the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks contained within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Remember to apply Zacks.com to follow these and more stock-moving metrics during the upcoming trading sessions.


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