UPDATE 1-HCA quarterly earnings down, as legal costs weigh

* Q4 EPS of 92 cents excluding legal costs tops analysts' 82 cents view

* Admissions to hospitals owned at least one year rose 4.3 percent

Feb 5 (Reuters) - HCA Holdings Inc, the largest U.S. for-profit hospital operator, reported lower fourth-quarter net earnings, reduced by costs to settle legal claims. Net income fell to $314 million, or 68 cents per share, compared with $1.94 billion, or $4.25 a share, a year earlier, when one-time gains from facilities sales and an investment boosted earnings. Excluding the legal expenses in the latest quarter, Nashville, Tennessee-based HCA reported earnings of 92 cents per share. Analysts on average had expected 82 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/ES. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization fell 2 percent to $1.61 billion. Revenue increased 8.5 percent to $8.43 billion in the quarter. Admissions to hospitals operated at least one year rose 4.3 percent. HCA said it expects 2013 earnings excluding items in a range of $3.00 to $3.30 per share, on revenue of $33.5 billion to $34.5 billion.