HCA Holdings Corporate Bonds and Leverage Analysis

HCA Etf  USD 297.00  14.03  4.51%   
HCA Holdings holds a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.0. HCA Holdings' financial risk is the risk to HCA Holdings stockholders that is caused by an increase in debt. In other words, with a high degree of financial leverage come high-interest payments, which usually reduce Earnings Per Share (EPS).
  
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Given the importance of HCA Holdings' capital structure, the first step in the capital decision process is for the management of HCA Holdings to decide how much external capital it will need to raise to operate in a sustainable way. Once the amount of financing is determined, management needs to examine the financial markets to determine the terms in which the company can boost capital. This move is crucial to the process because the market environment may reduce the ability of HCA Holdings to issue bonds at a reasonable cost.

HCA Holdings Financial Leverage Rating

HCA Holdings bond ratings play a critical role in determining how much HCA Holdings have to pay to access credit markets, i.e., the amount of interest on their issued debt. The threshold between investment-grade and speculative-grade ratings has important market implications for HCA Holdings' borrowing costs.

HCA Holdings Debt to Cash Allocation

As HCA Holdings follows its natural business cycle, the capital allocation decisions will not magically go away. HCA Holdings' decision-makers have to determine if most of the cash flows will be poured back into or reinvested in the business, reserved for other projects beyond operational needs, or paid back to stakeholders and investors. Many companies eventually find out that there is only so much market out there to be conquered, and adding the next product or service is only half as profitable per unit as their current endeavors. Eventually, the company will reach a point where cash flows are strong, and extra cash is available but not fully utilized. In this case, the company may start buying back its stock from the public or issue more dividends.
The company has 41.86 B in debt. HCA Holdings has a current ratio of 1.35, which is typical for the industry and considered as normal. Debt can assist HCA Holdings until it has trouble settling it off, either with new capital or with free cash flow. So, HCA Holdings' shareholders could walk away with nothing if the company can't fulfill its legal obligations to repay debt. However, a more frequent occurrence is when companies like HCA Holdings sell additional shares at bargain prices, diluting existing shareholders. Debt, in this case, can be an excellent and much better tool for HCA to invest in growth at high rates of return. When we think about HCA Holdings' use of debt, we should always consider it together with cash and equity.

HCA Holdings Assets Financed by Debt

Typically, companies with high debt-to-asset ratios are said to be highly leveraged. The higher the ratio, the greater risk will be associated with the HCA Holdings' operation. In addition, a high debt-to-assets ratio may indicate a low borrowing capacity of HCA Holdings, which in turn will lower the firm's financial flexibility. Like all other financial ratios, a a HCA Holdings debt ratio should be compared their industry average or other competing firms.

Understaning HCA Holdings Use of Financial Leverage

HCA Holdings financial leverage ratio helps in determining the effect of debt on the overall profitability of the company. It measures HCA Holdings's total debt position, including all of outstanding debt obligations, and compares it with the equity. In simple terms, the high financial leverage means the cost of production, together with running the business day-to-day, is high, whereas, lower financial leverage implies lower fixed cost investment in the business and generally considered by investors to be a good sign. So if creditors own a majority of HCA Holdings assets, the company is considered highly leveraged. Understanding the composition and structure of overall HCA Holdings debt and outstanding corporate bonds gives a good idea of how risky the capital structure of a business and if it is worth investing in it. Financial leverage can amplify the potential profits to HCA Holdings' owners, but it also increases the potential losses and risk of financial distress, including bankruptcy, if the firm cannot cover its debt costs. The degree of HCA Holdings' financial leverage can be measured in several ways, including by ratios such as the debt-to-equity ratio (total debt / total equity), equity multiplier (total assets / total equity), or the debt ratio (total debt / total assets).
HCA Healthcare, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides health care services company in the United States. HCA Healthcare, Inc. was founded in 1968 and is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. Hca Holdings operates under Medical Care Facilities classification in the United States and is traded on New York Stock Exchange. It employs 204000 people.
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HCA Holdings Implied Volatility

    
  150.76  
HCA Holdings' implied volatility exposes the market's sentiment of HCA Holdings stock's possible movements over time. However, it does not forecast the overall direction of its price. In a nutshell, if HCA Holdings' implied volatility is high, the market thinks the stock has potential for high price swings in either direction. On the other hand, the low implied volatility suggests that HCA Holdings stock will not fluctuate a lot when HCA Holdings' options are near their expiration.
Some investors attempt to determine whether the market's mood is bullish or bearish by monitoring changes in market sentiment. Unlike more traditional methods such as technical analysis, investor sentiment usually refers to the aggregate attitude towards HCA Holdings in the overall investment community. So, suppose investors can accurately measure the market's sentiment. In that case, they can use it for their benefit. For example, some tools to gauge market sentiment could be utilized using contrarian indexes, HCA Holdings' short interest history, or implied volatility extrapolated from HCA Holdings options trading.

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Check out the analysis of HCA Holdings Fundamentals Over Time.
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Note that the HCA Holdings information on this page should be used as a complementary analysis to other HCA Holdings' statistical models used to find the right mix of equity instruments to add to your existing portfolios or create a brand new portfolio. You can also try the Pair Correlation module to compare performance and examine fundamental relationship between any two equity instruments.
The market value of HCA Holdings is measured differently than its book value, which is the value of HCA that is recorded on the company's balance sheet. Investors also form their own opinion of HCA Holdings' value that differs from its market value or its book value, called intrinsic value, which is HCA Holdings' true underlying value. Investors use various methods to calculate intrinsic value and buy a stock when its market value falls below its intrinsic value. Because HCA Holdings' market value can be influenced by many factors that don't directly affect HCA Holdings' underlying business (such as a pandemic or basic market pessimism), market value can vary widely from intrinsic value.
Please note, there is a significant difference between HCA Holdings' value and its price as these two are different measures arrived at by different means. Investors typically determine if HCA Holdings is a good investment by looking at such factors as earnings, sales, fundamental and technical indicators, competition as well as analyst projections. However, HCA Holdings' price is the amount at which it trades on the open market and represents the number that a seller and buyer find agreeable to each party.

What is Financial Leverage?

Financial leverage is the use of borrowed money (debt) to finance the purchase of assets with the expectation that the income or capital gain from the new asset will exceed the cost of borrowing. In most cases, the debt provider will limit how much risk it is ready to take and indicate a limit on the extent of the leverage it will allow. In the case of asset-backed lending, the financial provider uses the assets as collateral until the borrower repays the loan. In the case of a cash flow loan, the general creditworthiness of the company is used to back the loan. The concept of leverage is common in the business world. It is mostly used to boost the returns on equity capital of a company, especially when the business is unable to increase its operating efficiency and returns on total investment. Because earnings on borrowing are higher than the interest payable on debt, the company's total earnings will increase, ultimately boosting stockholders' profits.

Leverage and Capital Costs

The debt to equity ratio plays a role in the working average cost of capital (WACC). The overall interest on debt represents the break-even point that must be obtained to profitability in a given venture. Thus, WACC is essentially the average interest an organization owes on the capital it has borrowed for leverage. Let's say equity represents 60% of borrowed capital, and debt is 40%. This results in a financial leverage calculation of 40/60, or 0.6667. The organization owes 10% on all equity and 5% on all debt. That means that the weighted average cost of capital is (.4)(5) + (.6)(10) - or 8%. For every $10,000 borrowed, this organization will owe $800 in interest. Profit must be higher than 8% on the project to offset the cost of interest and justify this leverage.

Benefits of Financial Leverage

Leverage provides the following benefits for companies:
  • Leverage is an essential tool a company's management can use to make the best financing and investment decisions.
  • It provides a variety of financing sources by which the firm can achieve its target earnings.
  • Leverage is also an essential technique in investing as it helps companies set a threshold for the expansion of business operations. For example, it can be used to recommend restrictions on business expansion once the projected return on additional investment is lower than the cost of debt.
By borrowing funds, the firm incurs a debt that must be paid. But, this debt is paid in small installments over a relatively long period of time. This frees funds for more immediate use in the stock market. For example, suppose a company can afford a new factory but will be left with negligible free cash. In that case, it may be better to finance the factory and spend the cash on hand on inputs, labor, or even hold a significant portion as a reserve against unforeseen circumstances.

The Risk of Financial Leverage

The most obvious and apparent risk of leverage is that if price changes unexpectedly, the leveraged position can lead to severe losses. For example, imagine a hedge fund seeded by $50 worth of investor money. The hedge fund borrows another $50 and buys an asset worth $100, leading to a leverage ratio of 2:1. For the investor, this is neither good nor bad -- until the asset price changes. If the asset price goes up 10 percent, the investor earns $10 on $50 of capital, a net gain of 20 percent, and is very pleased with the increased gains from the leverage. However, if the asset price crashes unexpectedly, say by 30 percent, the investor loses $30 on $50 of capital, suffering a 60 percent loss. In other words, the effect of leverage is to increase the volatility of returns and increase the effects of a price change on the asset to the bottom line while increasing the chance for profit as well.