Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Has $15.89 Million Position in Universal Health Services, Inc. $UHS

Key Points

• Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Universal Health Services by 33.1% during the 1st quarter, acquiring an additional 21,022 shares to bring its total holdings to 84,541 shares.
• Universal Health Services reported a net income of $5.35 EPS for the latest quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations and up from $4.31 EPS a year prior, alongside a revenue increase of 9.6%.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, payable on September 16, contributing to an annualized dividend of $0.80 with a yield of 0.4%.

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS - Free Report) by 33.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 84,541 shares of the health services provider's stock after buying an additional 21,022 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned about 0.13% of Universal Health Services worth $15,885,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UHS. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Universal Health Services by 6.0% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,315,468 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $247,176,000 after purchasing an additional 74,128 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Universal Health Services by 9.0% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,241,738 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $233,311,000 after purchasing an additional 102,137 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Universal Health Services by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 596,280 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $106,985,000 after purchasing an additional 42,088 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Universal Health Services by 59.4% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 590,389 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $105,928,000 after purchasing an additional 219,942 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Universal Health Services by 3.5% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 504,804 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $94,853,000 after purchasing an additional 16,900 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.05% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on UHS. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Universal Health Services from $201.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays boosted their price objective on Universal Health Services from $257.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Universal Health Services from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, August 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Universal Health Services from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded Universal Health Services from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $215.00 to $185.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $214.15.

Universal Health Services Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE UHS traded up $0.7610 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $185.4610. The stock had a trading volume of 152,314 shares, compared to its average volume of 843,108. The company has a market capitalization of $11.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.76, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.24. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $173.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $178.70. Universal Health Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $152.33 and a 52 week high of $243.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.29.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The health services provider reported $5.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.85 by $0.50. The business had revenue of $4.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.24 billion. Universal Health Services had a return on equity of 18.25% and a net margin of 7.66%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.31 EPS. Universal Health Services has set its FY 2025 guidance at 20.000-21.000 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Universal Health Services, Inc. will post 15.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Universal Health Services Dividend Announcement

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

Universal Health Services 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.