Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the fourteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $217.0769.

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on UHS shares. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Universal Health Services from $201.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. UBS Group set a $227.00 price objective on shares of Universal Health Services in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Bank of America lowered shares of Universal Health Services from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $215.00 to $185.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $227.00 price objective on shares of Universal Health Services in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Universal Health Services in a report on Wednesday.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Universal Health Services

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of UHS. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in shares of Universal Health Services during the second quarter valued at approximately $87,373,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Universal Health Services during the second quarter valued at approximately $83,333,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 100.6% during the second quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 2,560 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $464,000 after purchasing an additional 426,211 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 57.8% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 931,355 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $173,381,000 after purchasing an additional 340,966 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 329.4% during the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 404,806 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $76,081,000 after purchasing an additional 310,531 shares in the last quarter. 86.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Universal Health Services Price Performance

Universal Health Services stock opened at $196.33 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $187.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $181.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.49 billion, a PE ratio of 10.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Universal Health Services has a 12-month low of $152.33 and a 12-month high of $240.26.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The health services provider reported $5.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.85 by $0.50. The firm had revenue of $4.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.24 billion. Universal Health Services had a net margin of 7.66% and a return on equity of 18.25%. The business’s revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $4.31 EPS. Universal Health Services has set its FY 2025 guidance at 20.000-21.000 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Universal Health Services will post 15.92 EPS for the current year.

Universal Health Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Universal Health Services’s payout ratio is currently 4.21%.

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.