Compare StocksBAC vs HCA

Bank of America Corporation (BAC) vs HCA Healthcare, Inc. (HCA)

BAC
Bank of America Corporation
$47.01
VS
HCA
HCA Healthcare, Inc.
$499.65

Rewards

BAC
  • Each dollar of retained earnings has created $2.37 of market value — management is an exceptional capital allocator.
  • PEG ratio of 0.58 suggests the stock is undervalued relative to its growth rate — paying less than 1x for each unit of earnings growth.
HCA
  • HCA Healthcare, Inc. has maintained ROIC above 15% for 4 consecutive years, indicating a durable competitive advantage.
  • HCA Healthcare, Inc. scores 95/100 on the Economic Moat Score (Wide Moat), with roic consistency as the strongest competitive dimension.
  • Free cash flow has grown at a 23.1% CAGR over the past 4 years, demonstrating strong earnings power growth.

Risks

BAC
  • Gross margin of 0.0% is low, suggesting a competitive or commodity-like market with limited pricing power.
  • Bank of America Corporation scores only 20/100 on the Economic Moat Score, suggesting limited durable competitive advantages.
  • Altman Z-Score of 0.22 places the company in the distress zone — financial patterns resemble those of companies that experienced bankruptcy.
HCA
  • FCF yield of 6.9% suggests reasonable valuation assuming continued moderate growth.
  • Trailing P/E of 17.6x is 29% above the historical average of 13.6x — the stock trades at a premium to its own history.
  • 5 insider sales totaling $29.3M with no purchases in the past 3 months — insiders are reducing their exposure.

Key Valuation Metrics

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BAC
HCA
Valuation
N/A
Free Cash Flow
$7.69B
N/A
FCF Yield
6.88%
12.34
Trailing P/E
17.64
9.49
Forward P/E
15.02
Quality & Moat
4.61%
ROIC
19.98%
N/A
ROE
N/A
0.00%
Gross Margin
41.50%
0.58
PEG Ratio
0.40
Balance Sheet Safety
N/A
Debt / Equity
N/A
N/A
Interest Coverage
N/A
N/A
Net Debt / EBITDA
3.07
2.38%
Dividend Yield
0.62%
BAC: 3Ties: 1HCA: 3
BACHCA

Historical Fundamentals

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BAC

Price ÷ Earnings Per Share — how many years of current earnings you're paying for at today's price. Lower P/E may indicate undervaluation.

HCA

Price ÷ Earnings Per Share — how many years of current earnings you're paying for at today's price. Lower P/E may indicate undervaluation.

Price ÷ Earnings Per Share — how many years of current earnings you're paying for at today's price. Lower P/E may indicate undervaluation.

$1 Retained Earnings Test

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BAC
$2.37
created per $1 retained over 3 years
Exceptional Value Creator
Σ Retained
$55.63B
Δ Market Cap
+$131.83B
Buffett's "$1 Test": For every $1 of earnings retained, has management created at least $1 of market value?
> $1 created per $1 retained = Value Creator · < $1 created = Value Destroyer
HCA
$2.43
created per $1 retained over 3 years
Exceptional Value Creator
Σ Retained
$15.76B
Δ Market Cap
+$38.30B
Buffett's "$1 Test": For every $1 of earnings retained, has management created at least $1 of market value?
> $1 created per $1 retained = Value Creator · < $1 created = Value Destroyer

Buffett's "$1 Test": For every $1 of earnings retained, has management created at least $1 of market value?
> $1 created per $1 retained = Value Creator · < $1 created = Value Destroyer

Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) Analysis

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BAC
64.3% Margin of Safety
Price is 64.3% below estimated fair value
Current Price: $47.01
Fair Value: $131.82
Strongly undervalued
Undervalued
Fairly valued
Overvalued
Strongly overvalued
HCA
3.7% Margin of Safety
Price is 3.7% below estimated fair value
Current Price: $499.65
Fair Value: $519.03
Strongly undervalued
Undervalued
Fairly valued
Overvalued
Strongly overvalued

Reverse DCF — Market-Implied Growth

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BAC

Requires positive FCF to compute implied growth rate.

HCA

What growth rate is the market pricing in at $500?

+9.9%
Market-Implied Owner Earnings Growth
Standard FCF implies +8.2%

The market implies +9.9% Owner Earnings growth, above historical trends.

Standard FCF implies a demanding +8.2%, reflecting heavy growth investment.

Economic Moat Score

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BAC
20/100
No Moat
70+ Wide · 40-69 Narrow · <40 None

No durable moat detected, though revenue predictability shows some competitive positioning. The business lacks consistent evidence of sustainable advantages.

Composite score measuring competitive advantage durability across four dimensions: returns above cost of capital, pricing power stability, revenue predictability, and capital efficiency. Based on 4 years of fundamental data.
HCA
95/100
Wide Moat
70+ Wide · 40-69 Narrow · <40 None

Wide moat with strength across all dimensions. ROIC Consistency is the standout factor.

Composite score measuring competitive advantage durability across four dimensions: returns above cost of capital, pricing power stability, revenue predictability, and capital efficiency. Based on 5 years of fundamental data.

Forensic Accounting

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BAC
-2.31
Unlikely Manipulator
Above -1.78 = likely manipulator · -2.22 to -1.78 = grey zone

M-Score Trend

Beneish's 8-variable model estimates the probability of earnings manipulation. An M-Score above -1.78 signals elevated risk — companies in this range have historically been 3-5× more likely to be manipulating earnings. Scores between -2.22 and -1.78 fall in a grey zone warranting further investigation.
HCA
-2.78
Unlikely Manipulator
Above -1.78 = likely manipulator · -2.22 to -1.78 = grey zone

M-Score Trend

Beneish's 8-variable model estimates the probability of earnings manipulation. An M-Score above -1.78 signals elevated risk — companies in this range have historically been 3-5× more likely to be manipulating earnings. Scores between -2.22 and -1.78 fall in a grey zone warranting further investigation.

Beneish's 8-variable model estimates the probability of earnings manipulation. An M-Score above -1.78 signals elevated risk — companies in this range have historically been 3-5× more likely to be manipulating earnings. Scores between -2.22 and -1.78 fall in a grey zone warranting further investigation.

Ownership Breakdown

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BAC
Insiders 7.3%Institutions 71.2%Retail & Other 21.5%
No. of Institutional Holders4,445
High insider ownership aligns management incentives with shareholders — a key signal in Buffett-style analysis. Institutional concentration can indicate smart-money conviction but also crowding risk.
HCA
Insiders 16.2%Institutions 78.4%Retail & Other 5.4%
No. of Institutional Holders1,906
High insider ownership aligns management incentives with shareholders — a key signal in Buffett-style analysis. Institutional concentration can indicate smart-money conviction but also crowding risk.

High insider ownership aligns management incentives with shareholders. Institutional concentration can indicate smart-money conviction but also crowding risk.

Insider Buying Activity

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BAC
0
Buys (3M)
0
Buys (12M)
No open market insider purchases found.
Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises
HCA
0
Buys (3M)
0
Buys (12M)
No open market insider purchases found.
Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises

Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises.

Insider Selling Activity

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BAC
5
Sells (3M)
5
Sells (12M)
Total value (12M): $20.17M
MENSAH BERNARD AMPONSAH
Officer
$4.41M
@ $46.94 · 2026-03-12
SCRIVENER THOMAS M
Officer
$2.49M
@ $49.82 · 2026-03-05
BRONSTEIN SHERI B
Officer
$2.99M
@ $49.91 · 2026-03-05
ATHANASIA DEAN C
President
$6.86M
@ $50.21 · 2026-03-03
BORTHWICK ALASTAIR M.
Chief Financial Officer
$3.42M
@ $50.24 · 2026-02-27
MENSAH BERNARD AMPONSAH
Officer
$3.66M
@ $39.80 · 2024-08-27
HANS LINDSAY D
Officer
$402,410
@ $36.91 · 2024-08-05
Direct ownership only · excludes indirect, option exercises, planned (10b5-1) sales & derivatives
HCA
5
Sells (3M)
8
Sells (12M)
Total value (12M): $38.53M
MCALEVEY MICHAEL R.
Officer
$903,537
@ $533.37 · 2026-02-18
BERRES JENNIFER
Officer
$4.13M
@ $514.58 · 2026-02-11
WYATT CHRISTOPHER F
Officer
$2.02M
@ $505.00 · 2026-02-11
HAZEN SAMUEL N
Chief Executive Officer
$21.48M
@ $501.04 · 2026-02-03
CUFFE MICHAEL S
Officer
$747,135
@ $498.09 · 2026-02-03
MCALEVEY MICHAEL R.
Officer
$1.84M
@ $473.79 · 2025-11-05
CUFFE MICHAEL S
Officer
$1.61M
@ $418.84 · 2025-09-08
FOSTER JON MARK
Officer
$5.80M
@ $369.32 · 2025-05-13
BERRES JENNIFER
Officer
$3.08M
@ $322.59 · 2025-02-14
BILLINGTON PHILLIP G
Officer
$1.36M
@ $350.00 · 2024-11-14
WHALEN KATHLEEN M
Officer
$527,677
@ $357.99 · 2024-11-14
AKDAMAR EROL R
Officer
$1.02M
@ $353.00 · 2024-11-14
CUFFE MICHAEL S
Officer
$3.22M
@ $385.42 · 2024-09-12
WHALEN KATHLEEN M
Officer
$1.76M
@ $362.13 · 2024-07-31
REINER DEBORAH M
Officer
$1.19M
@ $359.96 · 2024-07-29
WYATT CHRISTOPHER F
Officer
$1.44M
@ $360.20 · 2024-07-29
TORRES KATHRYN A
Officer
$659,328
@ $355.05 · 2024-07-25
WHALEN KATHLEEN M
Officer
$1.05M
@ $326.30 · 2024-05-16
TORRES KATHRYN A
Officer
$607,673
@ $326.18 · 2024-05-15
COHEN JEFFREY E.
Officer
$516,450
@ $313.00 · 2024-05-09
CUFFE MICHAEL S
Officer
$2.00M
@ $316.88 · 2024-05-09
CUFFE MICHAEL S
Officer
$494,400
@ $309.00 · 2024-05-06
TORRES KATHRYN A
Officer
$581,256
@ $312.00 · 2024-05-03
Direct ownership only · excludes indirect, option exercises, planned (10b5-1) sales & derivatives

Direct ownership only · excludes indirect, option exercises, planned (10b5-1) sales & derivatives.

🎭 Mr. Market's Mood

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BAC
FearGreed
😐Neutral(47/100)

"Market is pricing this stock without strong emotion in either direction"

Composite sentiment score based on 6 market signals. Inspired by Buffett's "Mr. Market" allegory — fear = potential opportunity, greed = potential risk. Must be used alongside fundamental analysis, not in isolation.
HCA
FearGreed
😐Neutral(53/100)

"Market is pricing this stock without strong emotion in either direction"

Composite sentiment score based on 6 market signals. Inspired by Buffett's "Mr. Market" allegory — fear = potential opportunity, greed = potential risk. Must be used alongside fundamental analysis, not in isolation.

Composite sentiment score based on market signals. Inspired by Buffett’s "Mr. Market" allegory — fear = potential opportunity, greed = potential risk. Must be used alongside fundamental analysis, not in isolation.

⚖️ Buffett Signal

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BAC
Awaiting DCF Data

The Buffett Signal cross-references market sentiment with DCF valuation. Configure the DCF Analysis above to generate a signal.

DCF Margin of Safety: N/AMr. Market's Mood: Neutral (47)
HCA
Awaiting DCF Data

The Buffett Signal cross-references market sentiment with DCF valuation. Configure the DCF Analysis above to generate a signal.

DCF Margin of Safety: N/AMr. Market's Mood: Neutral (53)
View BAC Full AnalysisView HCA Full Analysis
Bank of America Corporation (BAC) vs HCA Healthcare, Inc. (HCA) Stock Comparison | SafetyMargin.io