Hospitals
Hopefully it never comes to this, but many who come down with the flu end up in the hospital. U.S News & Report recently wrote that in Chicago, hospital employees say they’re “knee-deep in flu and pneumonia cases,” while 10% of emergency room visits in Rhode Island over the last week were because of flu-like symptoms.
Enter HCA Holdings (NYSE:HCA), the nation’s biggest hospital operator. It runs more than 160 hospitals across the country, including many in the South, where the flu season hit the earliest.
Community Health Systems (NYSE:CYH), Tenet Healthcare (NYSE:THC) and Health Management Associates (NYSE:HMA) are other hospital stocks — and all just finished a strong 2012. As flu seasons worsens, their business — as wrong as it sounds — might just get better.
As of this writing, Alyssa Oursler did not own a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
Comments are currently unavailable. Please check back soon.