Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) Receives “Equal Weight” Rating from Stephens

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS)‘s stock had its “equal weight” rating restated by Stephens in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $185.00 target price on the health services provider’s stock. Stephens’ target price indicates a potential upside of 13.66% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on UHS. StockNews.com raised Universal Health Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. Barclays started coverage on Universal Health Services in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $181.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on Universal Health Services from $152.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Universal Health Services from $144.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $156.00 price objective on shares of Universal Health Services in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Universal Health Services has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.07.

Universal Health Services Price Performance

Shares of UHS traded down $3.14 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $162.76. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 696,084 shares, compared to its average volume of 573,281. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.24. Universal Health Services has a one year low of $119.90 and a one year high of $183.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $170.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $153.01.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The health services provider reported $3.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.14 by $0.56. The company had revenue of $3.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.78 billion. Universal Health Services had a return on equity of 12.08% and a net margin of 5.03%. The firm’s revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.34 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Universal Health Services will post 13.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Universal Health Services

In other Universal Health Services news, CFO Steve Filton sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.82, for a total value of $6,188,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly 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 accessible through this link. 16.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Universal Health Services

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Czech National Bank lifted its position in Universal Health Services by 45.8% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 10,861 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $1,366,000 after acquiring an additional 3,411 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Universal Health Services by 10.8% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 28,456 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $3,578,000 after buying an additional 2,770 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in shares of Universal Health Services by 13.4% during the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 9,300 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $1,169,000 after buying an additional 1,100 shares during the period. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Universal Health Services by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,816 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $731,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the period. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its holdings in shares of Universal Health Services by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 33,440 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $4,204,000 after buying an additional 482 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.