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

Shares of Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $179.71.

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on UHS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Universal Health Services from $170.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Universal Health Services from $140.00 to $181.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Universal Health Services from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. UBS Group raised their target price 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. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $156.00 price target on shares of Universal Health Services in a report on Wednesday, April 10th.

Universal Health Services Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE:UHS opened at $166.35 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $170.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $151.47. Universal Health Services has a one year low of $119.90 and a one year high of $183.61. The firm has a market cap of $11.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.21, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.40.

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

Universal Health Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 currently 7.80%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Steve Filton sold 35,000 shares of Universal Health Services stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.82, for a total transaction of $6,188,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 68,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,162,563.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 16.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Universal Health Services

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in UHS. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Universal Health Services by 9.0% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 10,079 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $1,461,000 after purchasing an additional 828 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Universal Health Services by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 11,674 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $1,691,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 22.9% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 19,853 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $2,878,000 after buying an additional 3,699 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS grew its holdings in Universal Health Services by 6.6% during the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 9,784 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,418,000 after acquiring an additional 606 shares during the period. Finally, BlackRock Inc. lifted its holdings in Universal Health Services by 2.3% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 5,026,512 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $728,594,000 after acquiring an additional 113,259 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

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.