Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) Raised to Strong-Buy at Wall Street Zen

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. UBS Group set a $227.00 price target on shares of Universal Health Services in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Universal Health Services from $201.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Universal Health Services from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $215.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $227.00 price target on shares of Universal Health Services in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Universal Health Services from $259.00 to $250.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $217.08.

Universal Health Services Stock Performance

NYSE:UHS opened at $196.33 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $12.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.34, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $187.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $181.77. 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 1-year low of $152.33 and a 1-year high of $240.26.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The health services provider reported $5.35 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.85 by $0.50. Universal Health Services had a return on equity of 18.25% and a net margin of 7.66%.The firm had revenue of $4.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.24 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.31 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. Universal Health Services has set its FY 2025 guidance at 20.000-21.000 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Universal Health Services will post 15.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Universal Health Services

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Universal Health Services by 11.1% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,461,198 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $264,696,000 after buying an additional 145,730 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 9.0% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,241,738 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $233,311,000 after purchasing an additional 102,137 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Universal Health Services by 57.8% during the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Universal Health Services by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 926,669 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $167,866,000 after purchasing an additional 31,201 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Universal Health Services by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 639,524 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $115,850,000 after purchasing an additional 4,932 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.