HCA Healthcare, Inc.
HCA
recently entered into exclusive acquisition talks with not-for-profit Wise Health System’s board of directors, located in Decatur, TX. If the companies reach an agreement, Wise Health will likely join Medical City Healthcare, an HCA Healthcare division.
The move is expected to boost HCA’s footprint and market share in Texas, wherein it already has 47 facilities. The acquiree has more than 1,800 employees and was founded in 1974. It is present in six counties in Texas and owns two inpatient hospitals and surgery units each, one urgent care facility, 20 primary and special care units along with seven nursing homes, per reports.
The process of acquisition is likely to go on for several months as the companies work to reach a definitive agreement. HCA Healthcare emphasizes acquisitions for expedited growth. Its inorganic growth strategies lead to an increase in patient volumes, network expansion across several markets and add scale to its business. During 2020 and 2021, HCA Healthcare paid a total of $568 million and $1.1 billion each on acquiring hospitals and healthcare entities.
In the first nine months of 2022, the company spent $176 million on buyouts. More such deals are expected in the future. These acquisitions help HCA boost its portfolio and penetrate further into different geographies. The company’s diversified portfolio is differentiated across the industry.
Price Performance
Shares of HCA Healthcare have declined 3.9% in a year compared with the
industry
’s fall of 9.4%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Zacks Rank & Key Picks
HCA Healthcare currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks in the broader
medical
space are
CareDx, Inc
CDNA
,
MedAvail Holdings, Inc.
MDVL
and
AMN Healthcare Services, Inc.
AMN
, each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see
the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here
.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CareDx’s 2022 earnings has improved 24.5% in the past 60 days. CDNA has witnessed two upward estimate revisions during this time against none in the opposite direction. It beat earnings estimates by 57.1% in the last reported quarter.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for MedAvail Holdings’ 2022 bottom line indicates a 37.3% improvement from the prior-year reported number. MDVL has witnessed one upward estimate revision in the past 60 days against none in the opposite direction.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AMN Healthcare’s 2022 bottom line indicates a 44% improvement from the prior-year reported number. The consensus estimate for AMN’s top line also indicates 30.1% year-over-year growth.
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