Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) Sets New 12-Month High After Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) reached a new 52-week high on Thursday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $195.00 to $200.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Universal Health Services traded as high as $183.50 and last traded at $182.58, with a volume of 14183 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $181.85.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Universal Health Services from $152.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. StockNews.com raised Universal Health Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Universal Health Services from $170.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Universal Health Services in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $181.00 price objective for the company. Finally, TD Cowen lifted 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 research note on Friday, March 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Universal Health Services has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $176.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at Universal Health Services

In other news, CFO Steve Filton sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.82, for a total value of $6,188,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 68,785 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,162,563.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 15.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Universal Health Services

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in UHS. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 48.0% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,967,220 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $247,339,000 after buying an additional 638,166 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Universal Health Services by 32,501.2% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 570,847 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $87,020,000 after purchasing an additional 569,096 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Universal Health Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $86,117,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 12,924.9% during the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 503,935 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $76,820,000 after purchasing an additional 500,066 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Iron Triangle Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Universal Health Services during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $74,152,000. 86.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Universal Health Services Trading Up 0.3 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The business has a 50 day moving average of $166.90 and a 200-day moving average of $147.15. The stock has a market cap of $12.27 billion, a PE ratio of 17.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.23.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The health services provider reported $3.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $3.70 billion during 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%. The company’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.02 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Universal Health Services, Inc. will post 13.39 EPS for the current year.

Universal Health Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. Universal Health Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.80%.

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.