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

Shares of Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the fourteen ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $190.43.

A number of research firms have weighed in on UHS. Barclays boosted their price objective on Universal Health Services from $181.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Robert W. Baird began coverage on Universal Health Services in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $198.00 price objective on the stock. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Universal Health Services from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $185.00 price objective on shares of Universal Health Services in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, UBS Group raised Universal Health Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $189.00 to $226.00 in a research note on Monday, May 20th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Universal Health Services

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Universal Health Services by 11.4% in the 1st quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 624 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $114,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Universal Health Services by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 12,776 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $2,331,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of Universal Health Services by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,070 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $163,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC increased its holdings in Universal Health Services by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 2,455 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $448,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Universal Health Services by 34.8% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 360 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

Universal Health Services Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UHS opened at $189.10 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $177.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $167.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.66 billion, a PE ratio of 16.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.29. Universal Health Services has a 1 year low of $119.90 and a 1 year high of $191.51.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The health services provider reported $3.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.14 by $0.56. The firm had revenue of $3.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.78 billion. Universal Health Services had a return on equity of 13.34% and a net margin of 5.57%. The business’s revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.34 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Universal Health Services will post 13.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.42%. Universal Health Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.