Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.58 EPS

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The health services provider reported $3.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.12 by $0.58, Briefing.com reports. The firm had revenue of $3.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.78 billion. Universal Health Services had a return on equity of 12.08% and a net margin of 5.03%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.34 EPS.

Universal Health Services Price Performance

Universal Health Services stock traded up $0.99 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $165.90. The company had a trading volume of 1,108,930 shares, compared to its average volume of 570,649. Universal Health Services has a 1 year low of $119.90 and a 1 year high of $183.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The company has a market capitalization of $11.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.24. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $170.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $152.92.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on UHS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Universal Health Services from $144.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Barclays initiated coverage on Universal Health Services in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $181.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen raised their target price on Universal Health Services from $140.00 to $181.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on Universal Health Services from $208.00 to $203.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Universal Health Services from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at Universal Health Services

In other news, CFO Steve Filton sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.82, for a total value of $6,188,700.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 68,785 shares in the company, valued at $12,162,563.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 16.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Universal Health Services

Universal Health Services, Inc, through its subsidiaries, owns and operates acute care hospitals, and outpatient and behavioral health care facilities. It operates through Acute Care Hospital Services and Behavioral Health Care Services segments. The company's hospitals offer general and specialty surgery, internal medicine, obstetrics, emergency room care, radiology, oncology, diagnostic and coronary care, pediatric services, pharmacy services, and/or behavioral health services.