Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) Price Target Cut to $140.00

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS – Get Rating) had its target price trimmed by Stephens from $155.00 to $140.00 in a report released on Wednesday morning, The Fly reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the health services provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on UHS. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Universal Health Services from $126.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, December 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Universal Health Services from $130.00 to $168.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 3rd. Credit Suisse Group increased their price target on shares of Universal Health Services from $129.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Friday, November 25th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Universal Health Services from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a report on Monday, December 5th. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Universal Health Services from an outperform rating to a peer perform rating in a report on Wednesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $134.36.

Universal Health Services Stock Performance

UHS opened at $127.12 on Wednesday. Universal Health Services has a 52-week low of $82.50 and a 52-week high of $158.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company has a market cap of $9.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 1.25. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $145.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $122.44.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 27th. The health services provider reported $3.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.96 by $0.06. Universal Health Services had a net margin of 5.04% and a return on equity of 12.31%. The firm had revenue of $3.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.95 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Universal Health Services will post 10.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Universal Health Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 1st will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 28th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.63%. Universal Health Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.74%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Universal Health Services by 76.4% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 187 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Brinker Capital Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Universal Health Services by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Brinker Capital Investments LLC now owns 3,375 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $489,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of Universal Health Services by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 857 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Universal Health Services by 33.3% during the 1st quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 400 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Universal Health Services by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 4,648 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $655,000 after buying an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

About Universal Health Services

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Universal Health Services, Inc operates as a healthcare management company, which through its subsidiaries, owns and operates acute care hospitals, behavioral health centers, and outpatient facilities. It operates through the following segments: Acute Care Hospital Services, Behavioral Health Care Services, and Other.