Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.58 EPS

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The health services provider reported $3.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.12 by $0.58, Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $3.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.78 billion. Universal Health Services had a net margin of 5.03% and a return on equity of 12.08%. The firm’s revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.34 EPS.

Universal Health Services Stock Performance

Shares of UHS traded up $0.99 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $165.90. 1,107,052 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 570,649. Universal Health Services has a 52 week low of $119.90 and a 52 week high of $183.61. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $170.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $152.92. The firm has a market cap of $11.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on UHS. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Universal Health Services in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $181.00 target price for the company. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Universal Health Services from $170.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. StockNews.com raised shares of Universal Health Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Universal Health Services from $208.00 to $203.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Universal Health Services from $144.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.71.

Insider Activity at Universal Health Services

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

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.