Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the fifteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $224.77.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on UHS. Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and set a $224.00 price target (down previously from $274.00) on shares of Universal Health Services in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Universal Health Services in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $200.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Universal Health Services from $230.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Barclays lifted their target price on Universal Health Services from $249.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Universal Health Services from $211.00 to $201.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Universal Health Services

In other news, Director Maria Ruderman Singer sold 1,097 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.48, for a total value of $210,053.56. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 7,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,509,628.32. This represents a 12.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 16.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Universal Health Services

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Universal Health Services by 22.5% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 54,105 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $9,721,000 after purchasing an additional 9,946 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Universal Health Services by 255.3% in the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 6,345 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,138,000 after acquiring an additional 4,559 shares in the last quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. grew its position in Universal Health Services by 175.6% during the 4th quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 2,792 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $501,000 after acquiring an additional 1,779 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Universal Health Services by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,197,537 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $274,248,000 after acquiring an additional 10,578 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC increased its holdings in Universal Health Services by 43.3% during the 4th quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 8,176 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $1,467,000 after purchasing an additional 2,472 shares in the last quarter. 86.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Universal Health Services Stock Performance

UHS opened at $195.44 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market cap of $12.70 billion, a PE ratio of 12.99, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.29. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $179.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $185.24. Universal Health Services has a fifty-two week low of $153.99 and a fifty-two week high of $243.25.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The health services provider reported $4.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.36 by $0.48. The business had revenue of $4.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.16 billion. Universal Health Services had a return on equity of 15.75% and a net margin of 6.66%. Universal Health Services’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.70 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Universal Health Services will post 15.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Universal Health Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. Universal Health Services’s payout ratio is 4.49%.

Universal Health Services Company Profile

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.