For new and old investors, taking full advantage of the stock market and investing with confidence are common goals.

Many investors also have a go-to methodology that helps guide their buy and sell decisions. One way to find winning stocks based on your preferred way of investing is to use the Zacks Style Scores, which are indicators that rate stocks based on three widely-followed investing types: value, growth, and momentum.

Momentum investors, who live by the saying "the trend is your friend," are most interested in taking advantage of upward or downward trends in a stock's price or earnings outlook. Utilizing one-week price change and the monthly percentage change in earnings estimates, among other factors, the Momentum Style Score can help determine favorable times to buy high-momentum stocks.

HCA Healthcare is the largest non-governmental operator of acute care hospitals in the United States. Headquartered in Nashville, TN, it operates hospitals and related health care entities. At the end of 2024, the company operated 190 hospitals and approximately 2,400 ambulatory sites of care, including surgery centers, freestanding emergency rooms, urgent care centers and physician clinics, in 20 states and the United Kingdom.

HCA is a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock, with a Momentum Style Score of B and VGM Score of A. Shares are up 6.9% over the past one week and up 1.5% over the past four weeks. HCA has gained 5.7% in the last one-year period as well. Looking at trading volume, an average of 1,594,209 shares exchanged hands over the last 20 trading days.

A company's earnings performance is important for momentum investors as well. For fiscal 2025, 10 analysts revised their earnings estimate higher in the last 60 days for HCA, while the Zacks Consensus Estimate has increased $0.83 to $26.11 per share. HCA also boasts an average earnings surprise of 7%.

With strong earnings growth, a good Zacks Rank, and top-tier Momentum and VGM Style Scores, investors should think about adding HCA to their portfolios.

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report

HCA Healthcare, Inc. (HCA) : Free Stock Analysis Report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

Zacks Investment Research