Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $193.14.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on UHS shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of Universal Health Services from $208.00 to $203.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Universal Health Services from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Universal Health Services from $170.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Universal Health Services from $181.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $156.00 target price on shares of Universal Health Services in a report on Wednesday, April 10th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Universal Health Services

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of UHS. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Universal Health Services in the first quarter valued at about $32,000. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Universal Health Services in the first quarter valued at about $36,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Universal Health Services in the first quarter valued at about $36,000. Denali Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Universal Health Services in the first quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Universal Health Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

Universal Health Services Stock Performance

UHS opened at $184.93 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.28. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $180.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $169.32. Universal Health Services has a 1 year low of $119.90 and a 1 year high of $194.02. The stock has a market cap of $12.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.67, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.29.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The health services provider reported $3.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.14 by $0.56. The company had revenue of $3.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.78 billion. Universal Health Services had a net margin of 5.57% and a return on equity of 13.34%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.34 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Universal Health Services will post 13.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Universal Health Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 3rd were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 3rd. Universal Health Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.78%.

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.