HCA Healthcare, Inc. HCA recently announced its plans to penetrate deeper in Florida by building three new acute care hospitals. The construction is anticipated to begin next year. However, further details of the move were kept under wraps.

Rationale Behind the Deal

This move was taken by the leading hospital player to meet the evolving need for medical services in the region. The new hospitals consist of a 90-bed acute care facility in Gainesville, a 60-bed hospital near The Villages and a 100-bed acute care hospital in Fort Myers.

The recent growth in population in the state is another reason for this major move. This strategy is part of HCA’s commitment to expanding its reach in Florida with a $3-billion investment. The plan includes the recently opened $360-million worth HCA Florida University Hospital.

HCA already has a significant presence in the state, evident from its network of 47 hospitals and 400 affiliated sites, which includes physician practices and freestanding emergency rooms.

Patients will be able to gain from HCA’s expertise in providing enriched healthcare services.

The leading hospital industry player has been making efforts to extend its reach of late. In September, HCA forged an alliance with Steward Health Care whereby the former will acquire the operations of the latter’s five Utah hospitals. HCA also closed the Brookdale Home Health and Hospice transaction. In the second quarter, HCA completed the Meadows Regional Hospital buyout in Vidalia, GA.

All these initiatives have helped HCA enhance its capabilities over the years and create a solid portfolio.

HCA currently comprises 183 hospitals and around 2000 ambulatory sites of care, including surgery centers, freestanding ERs, urgent care centers and physician clinics in 20 states and the United Kingdom.

Shares of the currently Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) player have gained 47.2% in a year’s time, outperforming its industry’s increase of 29.4%. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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Other hospital companies taking several measures to boost their presence are Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc. ACHC, Tenet Healthcare Corporation THC and Universal Health Services, Inc. UHS.

Acadia Healthcare provides behavioral health care services in the United States and the United Kingdom. The hospital player remains actively engaged with its acquisition pipeline and expects the buyout and joint venture activity to be heavily aligned with acute facilities in the United States. ACHC plans to add 11 CTCs this year and six to 10 CTCs each year from 2022 to 2025.

Tenet Healthcare is an investor-owned health care services company, which owns and operates general hospitals and related health care facilities for urban and rural communities in numerous states. THC closed its buyout of a portfolio of 45 ambulatory surgical centers from SurgCenter Development for a value of $1.1 billion in December 2020. THC also entered into an agreement with Compass Surgical Partners to acquire their interest and management responsibilities in nine ASCs. THC is penetrating further in North Carolina.

Universal Health Services owns and operates (through its subsidiaries) acute care hospitals, behavioral health centers, surgical hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers and radiation oncology centers. UHS instated 439 beds at its acute care and behavioral health hospitals. Also, over the years, acquisitions have played a key role in building UHS’s growth trajectory.
In the last three years, Universal Health spent more than $170 million on acquiring businesses and properties. This year, UHS acquired 88 beds through the acquisition of the Las Vegas specialty hospital and a LEED Medical Center micro-hospital.

In the past year, shares of both Acadia Healthcare and Tenet Healthcare have gained 35.4% and 126.9% each while the stock of Universal Health Services has lost 7.9%.

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