HCA Healthcare (HCA) Posts In-Line Q3 Earnings, Keeps View

HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) reported third-quarter 2017 adjusted earnings of $1.21 per share, which came in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The bottom line declined nearly 25% year over year.

HCA Holdings, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

HCA Holdings, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | HCA Holdings, Inc. Quote

Improvement in revenues was offset by an increase in expenses. Shares were down 0.07% in pre-market trading.

HCA Healthcare posted revenues of $10.7 billion, almost in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The reported figure was up 3.9% from the year-ago quarter.

Provision for doubtful accounts surged 51% year over year to $1.3 million.

Quarterly Details

Adjusted EBITDA totaled $1.8 billion, up 9.2% year over year.

Same facility equivalent admissions inched up 0.3% year over year, while same facility admissions nudged up 0.6%. Same facility revenue per equivalent admission increased 2%.

Salaries and benefits, supplies and other operating expenses increased 7.2% year over year to $8.9 billion.

As of Sep 30, 2017, HCA Healthcare ran 177 hospitals and 119 free-standing surgery centers.

Financial Update

As of Sep 30, 2017, the company had cash and cash equivalents of $718 million, total debt of $32.6 billion and total assets of $35.7 billion.

During the reported quarter, capital expenditures totaled $729 million, excluding acquisitions. Cash flows provided by operating activities totaled $1 billion, down 16.4% year over year.

As of Sep 30, 2017, the company’s total debt/adjusted EBITDA was 4.1x compared with 3.8x as of Dec 31, 2016.

During the quarter under review, the company spent $509 million to buy back 6.3 million shares. The board of directors approved an additional share repurchase program for up to $2 billion.

Following the latest authorization, the company has about $2.2 million remaining under its existing repurchase authorization as of Oct 31, 2017.

Guidance

The company expects 2017 revenues in the range of $43-$44 billion, adjusted EBIDTA of $8-$8.2 billion, EPS of $6.45-$6.70 and capital expenditures of about $3 billion.

Zacks Rank and Performance of Other Companies From Medical Sector

HCA Healthcare presently carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) , ABIOMED, Inc. (NASDAQ:ABMD) and Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) have surpassed their respective Zacks Consensus Estimate during the last quarter.

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