Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) Stock Now Rated "Hold" by Sell-Side Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a “Hold” consensus on Universal Health Services, with 12 hold ratings and six buys among 18 firms. The average 12-month price target is $204.94, though several analysts recently reduced their targets.
• UHS shares opened at $178.97, while the company’s latest quarterly results slightly exceeded expectations: adjusted earnings were $5.98 per share versus a $5.94 consensus, and revenue rose 8.3% year over year to $4.64 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, equivalent to an annualized $0.80 dividend and a 0.4% yield. Institutional investors own approximately 86.05% of UHS shares.

Shares of Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Hold" by the eighteen research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $204.94.

UHS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Universal Health Services from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Guggenheim dropped their price target on shares of Universal Health Services from $195.00 to $189.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Universal Health Services from $212.00 to $191.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Universal Health Services from $242.00 to $190.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Universal Health Services from $179.00 to $168.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th.

Universal Health Services Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of UHS stock opened at $178.97 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $170.52 and a 200 day moving average of $167.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market cap of $10.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.06. Universal Health Services has a twelve month low of $140.08 and a twelve month high of $246.32.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The health services provider reported $5.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.94 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $4.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.58 billion. Universal Health Services had a return on equity of 19.39% and a net margin of 8.42%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.35 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Universal Health Services will post 22.96 EPS for the current year.

Universal Health Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Universal Health Services's dividend payout ratio is presently 3.26%.

Institutional Trading of Universal Health Services

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Universal Health Services by 51.4% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 54,975 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $11,988,000 after purchasing an additional 18,652 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Universal Health Services by 79.8% during the first quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 47,576 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $8,515,000 after buying an additional 21,122 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in shares of Universal Health Services by 33.1% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 119,561 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $26,136,000 after buying an additional 29,717 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in shares of Universal Health Services by 58.2% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 15,961 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $2,857,000 after buying an additional 5,870 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Engineers Gate Manager LP lifted its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 840.2% in the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 10,643 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $1,583,000 after buying an additional 9,511 shares in the last quarter. 86.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Universal Health Services Company Profile

Universal Health Services, Inc NYSE: UHS is a healthcare services company that owns and operates hospitals, outpatient facilities and other healthcare organizations. Its operations are primarily focused on acute care and behavioral health services, serving patients through a network of hospitals, treatment centers and ambulatory facilities.

The company's acute care activities include general and specialty hospitals that provide services such as emergency care, surgery, inpatient treatment and diagnostic procedures.

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