Building an investment portfolio from scratch can be difficult, especially if you're new to investing. It's easy to feel overwhelmed with so many different investment options out there, but focusing on stocks that are set to outperform the market over the next 12 months is an excellent place to start.

Now, let's take a deep dive into a great stock that could be just the right addition to your portfolio.

Why You Should Pay Attention to HCA Healthcare (HCA)

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 was added to the Zacks Focus List on January 7, 2019 at $123.39 per share. Since then, shares have increased 160.76% to $321.75.

Eight analysts revised their earnings estimate upwards in the last 60 days for fiscal 2025. The Zacks Consensus Estimate has increased $0.20 to $24.98. HCA boasts an average earnings surprise of 5.9%.

Additionally, HCA Healthcare's earnings are expected to grow 13.8% for the current fiscal year.

Since stock prices respond to earnings estimate revisions, it can be very profitable to buy stocks with an increased earnings outlook. By buying a Focus List stock like HCA, then, you're likely getting into a company whose future earnings estimates will be raised, potentially leading to price momentum.

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

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

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