Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $226.14.

Several brokerages have commented on UHS. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Universal Health Services from $285.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 25th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Universal Health Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $226.00 target price on shares of Universal Health Services in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Universal Health Services from $222.00 to $211.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Universal Health Services from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $228.00 to $198.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th.

Universal Health Services Stock Performance

NYSE UHS opened at $190.65 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $193.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $207.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.68, a P/E/G ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Universal Health Services has a 1 year low of $150.11 and a 1 year high of $243.25.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The health services provider reported $3.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.75 by ($0.04). Universal Health Services had a net margin of 6.66% and a return on equity of 15.75%. The business had revenue of $3.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.55 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Universal Health Services will post 15.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Universal Health Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 3rd. Universal Health Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.32%.

Insider Activity at Universal Health Services

In other Universal Health Services news, Director Maria Ruderman Singer sold 1,614 shares of Universal Health Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.15, for a total value of $308,516.10. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,879 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,123,770.85. The trade was a 21.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 16.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Universal Health Services

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new position in Universal Health Services during the fourth quarter worth $217,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Universal Health Services by 0.9% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,197,537 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $274,248,000 after purchasing an additional 10,578 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Universal Health Services in the 3rd quarter valued at about $202,000. 1ST Source Bank bought a new stake in Universal Health Services in the 3rd quarter valued at about $204,000. Finally, DGS Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Universal Health Services by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 7,984 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,829,000 after buying an additional 817 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

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.