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

Shares of Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation and seven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $179.71.

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on UHS shares. Citigroup increased their price objective on Universal Health Services from $170.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Universal Health Services from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of Universal Health Services from $208.00 to $203.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Universal Health Services from $170.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th.

Insider Activity at Universal Health Services

In other Universal Health Services news, CFO Steve Filton sold 35,000 shares of Universal Health Services stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 68,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,162,563.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 16.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Universal Health Services

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Universal Health Services by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,856,010 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,138,729,000 after buying an additional 146,820 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. boosted its position in Universal Health Services by 2.3% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Universal Health Services by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,398,974 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $427,353,000 after acquiring an additional 134,122 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Universal Health Services by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,071,022 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $315,707,000 after acquiring an additional 103,802 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,707,708 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $214,710,000 after purchasing an additional 195,650 shares during the period. 86.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Universal Health Services Stock Down 0.3 %

UHS stock opened at $166.35 on Tuesday. Universal Health Services has a twelve month low of $119.90 and a twelve month high of $183.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.18 billion, a PE ratio of 16.21, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.24. 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 stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $170.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $151.47.

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

Universal Health Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Universal Health Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.80%.

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.