Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) Stock Price Breaks Above 50-Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) passed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $177.84 and traded as high as $197.63. Universal Health Services shares last traded at $196.1860, with a volume of 1,781,884 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on UHS. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Universal Health Services from $212.00 to $191.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Universal Health Services in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Universal Health Services from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Universal Health Services from $242.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Universal Health Services from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $201.00.

Universal Health Services Stock Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $177.84 and a 200 day moving average of $177.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The company has a market cap of $11.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.11.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The health services provider reported $5.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $4.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.71 billion. Universal Health Services had a net margin of 7.96% and a return on equity of 18.39%. Universal Health Services’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.69 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Universal Health Services, Inc. will post 22.63 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Universal Health Services by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 4,554,670 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $677,234,000 after purchasing an additional 130,389 shares during the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 32.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 2,607,221 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $454,334,000 after buying an additional 637,894 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 12.1% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,781,262 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $318,812,000 after purchasing an additional 192,351 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in Universal Health Services by 1.7% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,226,577 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $219,520,000 after acquiring an additional 20,577 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Universal Health Services by 6.0% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 374,155 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $66,963,000 after purchasing an additional 21,333 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

Universal Health Services Company Profile

Universal Health Services, Inc (NYSE: UHS) is a healthcare services company that owns and operates hospitals, outpatient facilities and other healthcare providers. Its operations are focused primarily on acute care and behavioral health services.

The company’s acute care operations include general and specialty hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, emergency departments, physician practices and other outpatient services. Its behavioral health business provides inpatient and outpatient treatment for mental health conditions, substance-use disorders and related needs.

Universal Health Services serves patients across the United States and Puerto Rico, with additional behavioral health operations in the United Kingdom.