Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) Receives $176.29 Consensus PT from Analysts

Shares of Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eleven brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $176.29.

UHS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Universal Health Services in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $181.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Universal Health Services from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $156.00 price objective on shares of Universal Health Services in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Universal Health Services from $170.00 to $193.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Universal Health Services from $152.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th.

Universal Health Services Price Performance

UHS stock opened at $168.37 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $170.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $150.56. The stock has a market cap of $11.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.41, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.24. 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.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The health services provider reported $3.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.11. Universal Health Services had a net margin of 5.03% and a return on equity of 12.08%. The firm had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.66 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.02 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Universal Health Services will post 13.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Universal Health Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.48%. Universal Health Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.80%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Universal Health Services news, CFO Steve Filton sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.82, for a total transaction of $6,188,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 68,785 shares in the company, valued at $12,162,563.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 16.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Universal Health Services

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Universal Health Services by 1.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,856,010 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $1,138,729,000 after purchasing an additional 146,820 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. raised its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 2.3% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 5,026,512 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $728,594,000 after acquiring an additional 113,259 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 4.1% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,398,974 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $427,353,000 after acquiring an additional 134,122 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,071,022 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $315,707,000 after acquiring an additional 103,802 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 12.9% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,707,708 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $214,710,000 after acquiring an additional 195,650 shares in the last quarter. 86.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.